A business blog is central to a successful inbound marketing strategy that will help you get found and generate more inbound leads online. Why? Here are 6 reasons your business needs to blog:
1. Build thought leadership by showing your expertise and becoming a go-to resource for prospects and media.
2. Get SEO value for each blog article. More content = more opportunities to get found online.
3. Engage in a dialogue with customers and prospects through blog comments. Host conversations and respond to issues or questions.
4. Attract social media followers. Businesses that blog enjoy more social media reach because they have content to share.
5. Generate more leads online. A HubSpot study found that businesses that blog generate more than 67% more leads online compared to businesses that don't blog.
6. Humanize your brand by giving your company a voice of the people behind your brand.
Ready to start blogging? Start a business blog for free with a trial of HubSpot's software.
Adopted from HubSpots.com
Friday, September 30, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
You Gain by Losing Weight (Part 1)
By Omar Alcock
Countless people struggle with weight loss and wonder what they’re doing wrong. They try diets they read about on the Internet that promise rapid weight loss, but they never deliver. The bottom line is this. If you’re going to lose weight and stay fit, you have to think long-term lifestyle changes. You can’t eat a banana or a bowl of cabbage soup for three days and think you’ve succeeded in your weight loss goal.
Yes, I know you’re trying to lose weight. So it stands to reason that the first step in weight loss would be cutting back on your food intake. But not so fast. Cutting back too much can be as detrimental to weight loss as eating too much food. Don’t starve your body.
When you don’t eat enough food, your body will begin to take whatever it needs in the way of nutrients from other parts of your body in order to survive. That means taking nutrients from your bones, teeth, and vital organs, leaving your body depleted. Your metabolism will shut down in order to reserve energy and your body will only use enough energy to stay alive. So while you may think that by starving yourself you’ll drop weight quicker. What you’re actually doing is sabotaging your metabolism.
The operative word when thinking of food is “healthy”. It’s not enough to simply eat enough food to keep your metabolism running at optimal performance. You need foods that will give your body energy while allowing it to function with a minimal amount of effort (visit http://omar2129.eliteweightlosspackage.com for more details).
The trick is to balance the amount of food you eat with whole grains, fresh vegetables and fruits, along with lean meats. Choosing those foods will give you the most bang for the buck. For instance, if you start the day out great by having a healthy breakfast of yogurt, eggs and toast but then skip lunch and eat a big dinner, you’ve thrown your body off balance by making the end of the day top heavy with calories.
You probably have a barrel full of excuses that you pull out every time you talk about why you haven’t lost the weight you want to lose. It could be anything from a sluggish thyroid to faulty genetics to just not having enough time to think about weight loss.
The only way you will lose weight and keep it off is to stop making excuses for why you’re not succeeding. Allowing yourself to use excuses for why you are unable to lose weight will only be self-defeating. Why bother trying when you’ve already decided that you won’t succeed? Empower yourself to change those excuses around and become proactive in your desire to lose weight.
You may not lose weight as fast as someone else who does not have the same issues you have. That’s a fact of life. But that doesn’t mean you won’t lose weight. And I can guarantee that you won’t lose any weight if you continue to use your excuses as a crutch.
Omar Alcock is the CEO/Managing Director of OJR Trading Services (http://ojr-services.webs.com/). For more information on this losing weight package visit http://omar2129.eliteweightlosspackage.com.
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Affordable Local Marketing Techniques
By Liz T Jones
Effective local marketing is necessary to expand a business and increase profits. Business owners do not have to spend a ton of money to lead a successful advertising campaign. Internet presence, social media, and print media are all tools that do not cost a lot. With a few easy techniques, local businesses can easily reach hundreds of customers.
The first step is to create a website. The Internet is a very powerful marketing tool and its benefits should not be underestimated. Well-designed websites with high search engine rankings can reach thousands of people. Establishing a presence on the Internet is essential for any company to succeed in today's technology driven world. Local business marketing should always include targeting potential customers through the Internet.
Creating a website is easier and faster than most people think. The key to designing a website that will attract visitors is making it user-friendly. Include essential elements such as services or products offered, pricing, and contact information. A website should be well organized, and people must be able to find what they need easily. Hire a search engine optimization expert, so that customers can easily find it when searching for relevant keywords.
Another aspect of the Internet that can be very useful is social media. In recent years, social media websites have become very popular. Millions of people use them every day. Creating an account is easy and can provide many benefits. It is a great way to get exposure, advertise, and communicate with clients. The page should be updated often with any news or specials, and the comment option should be enabled, so that users can leave valuable feedback.
Print media can also be a successful marketing tool. Contacting local media can put the spotlight on a new or existing business and attract more customers who might not have known about it before. Press releases are another way to reach out to local residents. Another way to take advantage of media outlets is putting an advertisement in newspapers and magazines. Include any details that might get a reader's attention such as discounts or specials.
The Internet is arguably the best way to promote a business. The number of people that can be reached through social media and a well-designed website is limitless. Contacting small media outlets is a great way to target local residents. Take advantage of local marketing tools that are readily available, create specials, and always remain professional to gain and keep a loyal following for many years to come.
Effective local marketing is necessary to expand a business and increase profits. Business owners do not have to spend a ton of money to lead a successful advertising campaign. Internet presence, social media, and print media are all tools that do not cost a lot. With a few easy techniques, local businesses can easily reach hundreds of customers.
The first step is to create a website. The Internet is a very powerful marketing tool and its benefits should not be underestimated. Well-designed websites with high search engine rankings can reach thousands of people. Establishing a presence on the Internet is essential for any company to succeed in today's technology driven world. Local business marketing should always include targeting potential customers through the Internet.
Creating a website is easier and faster than most people think. The key to designing a website that will attract visitors is making it user-friendly. Include essential elements such as services or products offered, pricing, and contact information. A website should be well organized, and people must be able to find what they need easily. Hire a search engine optimization expert, so that customers can easily find it when searching for relevant keywords.
Another aspect of the Internet that can be very useful is social media. In recent years, social media websites have become very popular. Millions of people use them every day. Creating an account is easy and can provide many benefits. It is a great way to get exposure, advertise, and communicate with clients. The page should be updated often with any news or specials, and the comment option should be enabled, so that users can leave valuable feedback.
Print media can also be a successful marketing tool. Contacting local media can put the spotlight on a new or existing business and attract more customers who might not have known about it before. Press releases are another way to reach out to local residents. Another way to take advantage of media outlets is putting an advertisement in newspapers and magazines. Include any details that might get a reader's attention such as discounts or specials.
The Internet is arguably the best way to promote a business. The number of people that can be reached through social media and a well-designed website is limitless. Contacting small media outlets is a great way to target local residents. Take advantage of local marketing tools that are readily available, create specials, and always remain professional to gain and keep a loyal following for many years to come.
Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information about local business marketing, please visit http://www.local-marketing.com/.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Liz_T_Jones
Text Messaging Marketing - 6 Benefits You Can Get From It
By Greg Swan
Forget email and direct mail campaigns. Text messaging marketing is the new way to reach both new and existing customers.
And, it's awfully successful. Did you know that text messages have a read rate of more than 95%? That's much higher than email or direct mail!In fact, SMS texts - or short message service texts - have become the most widely used data application in the world!
So, what can your business get from text messaging marketing?
Forget email and direct mail campaigns. Text messaging marketing is the new way to reach both new and existing customers.
And, it's awfully successful. Did you know that text messages have a read rate of more than 95%? That's much higher than email or direct mail!In fact, SMS texts - or short message service texts - have become the most widely used data application in the world!
So, what can your business get from text messaging marketing?
- It's a great way to reach your existing market You can send out an SMS text daily, weekly, or monthly to your subscribers. And, you can even automate everything to make it easier on yourself. You can write a message to your new or existing customers and set it up to go out at a particular time.
- It's a good way to reach a qualified audience Since text messaging marketing is an opt-in service, you can rest easy knowing that the people who are getting your messages want to. You will never be labeled a spammer, or afraid that your message is falling on deaf ears.
- It's versatile Text messaging marketing can be used by virtually any business, for any reason. If you own a pharmacy, you can use it to tell customers when their prescriptions are ready. Or, if you run a bank, you can use an SMS text to let people know when interest rates drop. You can use it to communicate any message you want!
- It's instant No matter where people are, they have their cell phones with them. With text messaging marketing, you don't have to wait for them to log into an email account, or walk to check the mailbox. You don't even have to wait for them to get out of work! In fact, text messaging marketing is especially effective for time-sensitive information. For example, if you sent out an SMS text that says your restaurant is offering a brand new lunch special for the next 2 hours, people will be able to head your way immediately!
- It's a great way to build customer loyalty Because text messaging marketing is such an easy way to send out discounts and coupons, it makes your existing customers feel like they're getting special treatment. And, the better you make them feel, the more likely they are to become return customers!
- It's cost-effective With text message marketing, you don't have to budget for paper, envelopes, or stamps. You get all of your messages out easily, at an affordable price.
Greg Swan is the owner/CEO of Suncoast Publishing. He helps small businesses to improve search engine rankings through local search marketing, SEO, and lead generation. For more information on how to increase your web presence and get more customers, visit Local Search Marketing Specialist
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Swan
Is Marketing an Expense or an Investment?
By Rama Beerfas
There's an old saying that 50% of a business' marketing expense is wasted. The question is, which 50% is it?
Admittedly, it can be difficult to track the success of a marketing campaign; even more so given the fact that most micro to mid-size businesses don't set a specific goal, don't put a definite call to action and/or don't develop a metric that will allow them to measure the ROI and/or ROO on a given campaign.
The truth of the matter is that, the extra effort involved in:
It will show the results (good and/or bad) of any given campaign.
This method also allows you to eliminate or tweak marketing efforts that don't meet your expectations.
By developing a campaign that speaks to your target market and giving them a defined action to complete, your response rate will improve dramatically and your conversion rate will also show an increase. This is when the marketing expense evolves into an investment.
Of course, there are times that marketing just for marketing's sake pays off handsomely. Studies have shown that companies that maintained or increased their marketing efforts during the Great Depression were more likely to come out on the other end as thriving businesses. Some statistics show that about 80% of the companies that kept their marketing budget intact or augmented it survived the Great Depression, while only around 20% of those companies that cut back on marketing were still viable when the economy turned around. For a more detailed look at this, go to http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/20822.asp.
When the economy is down, it is vital to keep up with your previous marketing efforts - if only to convince your current and potential customers that your company is still alive and kicking. I can personally attest to this, as Lev Promotions' client base has grown at double the normal rate over the past three years as some of our competitors' have created the perception that they wouldn't be in business much longer because they were no sending out their regular marketing messages. These competitor's clients continued to see ours, though, and felt that we would continue to be there to service their needs. Their perception became reality as some of those competitors closed their doors due to lack of business.
That's when marketing is an investment!
There's an old saying that 50% of a business' marketing expense is wasted. The question is, which 50% is it?
Admittedly, it can be difficult to track the success of a marketing campaign; even more so given the fact that most micro to mid-size businesses don't set a specific goal, don't put a definite call to action and/or don't develop a metric that will allow them to measure the ROI and/or ROO on a given campaign.
The truth of the matter is that, the extra effort involved in:
- determining your target market,
- setting a specific goal for every marketing effort,
- designing a call to action suited to that market and your end goal and then
- developing and implementing a system to measure the desired outcome
It will show the results (good and/or bad) of any given campaign.
This method also allows you to eliminate or tweak marketing efforts that don't meet your expectations.
By developing a campaign that speaks to your target market and giving them a defined action to complete, your response rate will improve dramatically and your conversion rate will also show an increase. This is when the marketing expense evolves into an investment.
Of course, there are times that marketing just for marketing's sake pays off handsomely. Studies have shown that companies that maintained or increased their marketing efforts during the Great Depression were more likely to come out on the other end as thriving businesses. Some statistics show that about 80% of the companies that kept their marketing budget intact or augmented it survived the Great Depression, while only around 20% of those companies that cut back on marketing were still viable when the economy turned around. For a more detailed look at this, go to http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/20822.asp.
When the economy is down, it is vital to keep up with your previous marketing efforts - if only to convince your current and potential customers that your company is still alive and kicking. I can personally attest to this, as Lev Promotions' client base has grown at double the normal rate over the past three years as some of our competitors' have created the perception that they wouldn't be in business much longer because they were no sending out their regular marketing messages. These competitor's clients continued to see ours, though, and felt that we would continue to be there to service their needs. Their perception became reality as some of those competitors closed their doors due to lack of business.
That's when marketing is an investment!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Use LinkedIn to Promote Your Business For Free
By Fred Lotgering
LinkedIn has been from the beginning promoted as the online social network for business professionals and entrepreneurs. That is different from other social networks which appeal and are promoted to the masses. It is a made clear understanding that people are joining the LinkedIn community with the goal of expanding their business in some way.
LinkedIn was founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003. Early 2011 it reached it reached 100 million users. LinkedIn has become your online business card. You, as a business owner, better get an account to assure people you do exist.
With LinkedIn it is not necessary to hide your business intent as you are expected to do in other social media
like Facebook and Twitter. Professionals are interacting on LinkedIn with the explicit intention of making business connections. LinkedIn is also very strong represented internationally. More the 50% of its users are outside the USA.
As with all other social network, setting up and completing your profile is very important. A sloppy, incomplete profile will not reflect you or your business in a positive way. The headline section of your profile must be strategically written. It is a short summary to simply define yourself and your current business. Don't forget to use proper amount of specific keywords. Yes, Google is indexing your LinkedIn profile!
There is a difference between your Public Profile and your Private Profile. Certain segments of your profile can be restricted from public view from non-members. Make sure you customize your LinkedIn URL.
Status updates and announcements from your personal LinkedIn network are posted to the Network Activity portion on your Home Page. Similar to other networks you can use Like, Comment or Send a Message to the listed updates. This is a great way to start a communication. You can broadcast your own messages using the conversation box.
There are several applications to enhance your community. There is an applications for a Twitter utility, an events applications and even a way to tag your posts onto WordPress blogs.
After you setup your account you need to get contacts. You can import existing contacts, search or search for contacts. LinkedIn uses a hierarchy of connections and is primarily structured in three levels. All the contacts of your first level are made visible to you. Joining groups allows you further to target your business contacts.
LinkedIn allows you to present yourself or your business as a leader or expert in your market.
Success!
LinkedIn was founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003. Early 2011 it reached it reached 100 million users. LinkedIn has become your online business card. You, as a business owner, better get an account to assure people you do exist.
With LinkedIn it is not necessary to hide your business intent as you are expected to do in other social media
like Facebook and Twitter. Professionals are interacting on LinkedIn with the explicit intention of making business connections. LinkedIn is also very strong represented internationally. More the 50% of its users are outside the USA.
As with all other social network, setting up and completing your profile is very important. A sloppy, incomplete profile will not reflect you or your business in a positive way. The headline section of your profile must be strategically written. It is a short summary to simply define yourself and your current business. Don't forget to use proper amount of specific keywords. Yes, Google is indexing your LinkedIn profile!
There is a difference between your Public Profile and your Private Profile. Certain segments of your profile can be restricted from public view from non-members. Make sure you customize your LinkedIn URL.
Status updates and announcements from your personal LinkedIn network are posted to the Network Activity portion on your Home Page. Similar to other networks you can use Like, Comment or Send a Message to the listed updates. This is a great way to start a communication. You can broadcast your own messages using the conversation box.
There are several applications to enhance your community. There is an applications for a Twitter utility, an events applications and even a way to tag your posts onto WordPress blogs.
After you setup your account you need to get contacts. You can import existing contacts, search or search for contacts. LinkedIn uses a hierarchy of connections and is primarily structured in three levels. All the contacts of your first level are made visible to you. Joining groups allows you further to target your business contacts.
LinkedIn allows you to present yourself or your business as a leader or expert in your market.
Success!
Some Points About Opening a New Business
Starting your own business can be a terrifying and overwhelming thought yet it can also be an adventurous and successful experience. Opening your own business can provide the individual with a sense of freedom, independence, and faith in ones own abilities. People start their own businesses for many reasons; some are made redundant and decide to try and start their own business, others may just want to convert their hobby or the thing that interests them the most into a business. Whatever the reason, one this is certain, it will be a lot of work and does require patience, courage, fortitude, and faith. An individual who is planning on starting their own business should be aware of a few things before taking the dive into independence.
First the potential business owner should consider on the location for the new venture. Will the business need a physical location or is an Internet presence sufficient? Do I need to rent a real store, or an online one? Depending on the type of business and the clientele, the business owner will need to decide what type of location is best for the business.
The new owner will need to look at outside services such as an accountant or lawyer. Having your own business entails great responsibility. You will need to take care of all the financial and legal obligations of the business. This includes filing specific tax documents for businesses, charters, and other governmental issues. It is best to take care of all these before starting the business as the owner may become overwhelmed once the business takes off. Also one should clarify any regulations that may inhibit the business owner from opening and running a certain type of business. For example, opening an architecture business will require certain proof of capability and education.
Another issue is the small aspects that will ensure the business keeps running. One small bit is the software needed. A new business owner is most likely going to need financial or accounting software to keep track of the daily business transactions. If the potential business will maintain a lot of documents then the proper backup software will be needed to ensure customers' records and other important business documents are properly stored and safe from possible downtime.
The next notion a potential business owner should think of is forms of advertising. A new business has the problem of not being known to its potential customers. The main question is how will customers purchase your products or services if they cant find you. Depending on the product or service offered the right marketing media is a must. Some forms include Internet, newspaper, or TV adds. Each form does have its own price and the business owner will need to consider which one fits to the budget.
Another issue of a new business is the time. It does take time to really get a good kick off start. Some businesses may take a year to even break-even. Therefore, the owner may need to decide how the business will be maintained over the long haul.
Having your own business is an interesting and exciting event, but it should not be taken lightly as there are many issues to consider when starting a new business venture.
First the potential business owner should consider on the location for the new venture. Will the business need a physical location or is an Internet presence sufficient? Do I need to rent a real store, or an online one? Depending on the type of business and the clientele, the business owner will need to decide what type of location is best for the business.
The new owner will need to look at outside services such as an accountant or lawyer. Having your own business entails great responsibility. You will need to take care of all the financial and legal obligations of the business. This includes filing specific tax documents for businesses, charters, and other governmental issues. It is best to take care of all these before starting the business as the owner may become overwhelmed once the business takes off. Also one should clarify any regulations that may inhibit the business owner from opening and running a certain type of business. For example, opening an architecture business will require certain proof of capability and education.
Another issue is the small aspects that will ensure the business keeps running. One small bit is the software needed. A new business owner is most likely going to need financial or accounting software to keep track of the daily business transactions. If the potential business will maintain a lot of documents then the proper backup software will be needed to ensure customers' records and other important business documents are properly stored and safe from possible downtime.
The next notion a potential business owner should think of is forms of advertising. A new business has the problem of not being known to its potential customers. The main question is how will customers purchase your products or services if they cant find you. Depending on the product or service offered the right marketing media is a must. Some forms include Internet, newspaper, or TV adds. Each form does have its own price and the business owner will need to consider which one fits to the budget.
Another issue of a new business is the time. It does take time to really get a good kick off start. Some businesses may take a year to even break-even. Therefore, the owner may need to decide how the business will be maintained over the long haul.
Having your own business is an interesting and exciting event, but it should not be taken lightly as there are many issues to consider when starting a new business venture.
Making Small Businesses Look Bigger
By Lily Faden
With the help of all the technology tools we have today, small businesses don't seem that "small" anymore. We can actually make them look big enough for the audience to take notice of them.
Our number one tool for business marketing is the Internet. With the ever-growing popularity of social media and other online marketing tools, we can reach a bigger audience for our small business. It does not matter if you own a retail shop, salon or a restaurant. It also doesn't matter if you're a start up building business, when you use the vast amount of Internet tools available efficiently, you can draw in more customers.
Gone are the days when small businesses rely solely on radio, TV and newspapers to market their goods and services. Even though tri-media can still help reach local audience, the Internet reaches a far greater number of people.
Consider the following tips on advertising your business online. This will save you a lot of money for advertising while reaching into a wider audience.
Our number one tool for business marketing is the Internet. With the ever-growing popularity of social media and other online marketing tools, we can reach a bigger audience for our small business. It does not matter if you own a retail shop, salon or a restaurant. It also doesn't matter if you're a start up building business, when you use the vast amount of Internet tools available efficiently, you can draw in more customers.
Gone are the days when small businesses rely solely on radio, TV and newspapers to market their goods and services. Even though tri-media can still help reach local audience, the Internet reaches a far greater number of people.
Consider the following tips on advertising your business online. This will save you a lot of money for advertising while reaching into a wider audience.
- Create a website - Having your own website will help you reach more people to check out your products and services. Keep it simple and user-friendly, depending on what your type of business is. Include as many information you want to share as possible about your trade so that visitors will be informed. Make sure to constantly update the content, including your latest products and services, any upcoming sale or events to inform your target audience. Updating your website regularly will help boost your website popularity. This will also help your audience stay updated about what's going on in your establishment.
- Email address - Create a business email address. Do not use your personal email address to communicate business-related transactions. Register a new domain for your business so that your correspondence will look more professional. Ninety percent of the people who uses the Internet communicate via email address while customers can easily contact you electronically. Email is the most convenient way to respond to inquiries without having to talk to the customer on voice.
- Create Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts - Almost everybody has their Facebook and Twitter accounts nowadays. Social media is a great way to reach your target audience. Connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts to your website so that each time you update, it will be posted on your social networking pages. You'll be surprised at how much audience you can reach just by using Facebook and Twitter.
Need funding for your business? Check out Entrust Cash Advance
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lily_Faden
Small Business Marketing Strategies - 3 Simple Ways To Get Your Marketing Done For Free
Marketing is essential for your small business. Without it, you have no business. But marketing takes a lot of time and dedication to really start producing results. So, if you are finding it hard to put the time into marketing your business - the obvious choice will be to pay for it.
But if cash is tight, and you don't have the time - what can you do? Or what if you are starting a new business, and you are bootstrapping it? Well, I want to share with you a couple of ways to get customers, using very little of your time - and without spending a dime on marketing.
1. Ask your marketing company to give you their services for free.
If you need to market your services, other people need it too. Negotiate with your marketing company to give you free services if you refer them a certain number of customers. Then start referring like crazy...and get your marketing for free.
I got a free website, following this particular strategy.
2. Get your customers to pay for your marketing.
Like I said, other people need marketing too. Find a quality marketing company that offers their services dirt cheap (you may have to go to another state or country). Then double the price and sell it as an added service to your customers or the public. You only have to sell it to one customer - and your marketing will be paid for.
If you sell it to more people, you will have an additional stream of income. I got all my SEO, email marketing, video marketing, and social media marketing free following this strategy. I also started my own SEO business, and created a nice stream of income for myself.
3. Hire a virtual assistant and have your customers or business partners pay for it.
Virtual assistants are the Swiss army knives of the business world. They can do just about anything - and do it inexpensively. If you pool some people together who need a virtual assistant to do their marketing, make your compensation that the VA does your marketing for free.
I mean the VA is doing it anyway...This is the easiest of all of these, and it works really well. So these are just a few of the many ideas that you can use to get all your marketing done for free. And like I said, they work. I haven't paid for my marketing in months.
But if cash is tight, and you don't have the time - what can you do? Or what if you are starting a new business, and you are bootstrapping it? Well, I want to share with you a couple of ways to get customers, using very little of your time - and without spending a dime on marketing.
1. Ask your marketing company to give you their services for free.
If you need to market your services, other people need it too. Negotiate with your marketing company to give you free services if you refer them a certain number of customers. Then start referring like crazy...and get your marketing for free.
I got a free website, following this particular strategy.
2. Get your customers to pay for your marketing.
Like I said, other people need marketing too. Find a quality marketing company that offers their services dirt cheap (you may have to go to another state or country). Then double the price and sell it as an added service to your customers or the public. You only have to sell it to one customer - and your marketing will be paid for.
If you sell it to more people, you will have an additional stream of income. I got all my SEO, email marketing, video marketing, and social media marketing free following this strategy. I also started my own SEO business, and created a nice stream of income for myself.
3. Hire a virtual assistant and have your customers or business partners pay for it.
Virtual assistants are the Swiss army knives of the business world. They can do just about anything - and do it inexpensively. If you pool some people together who need a virtual assistant to do their marketing, make your compensation that the VA does your marketing for free.
I mean the VA is doing it anyway...This is the easiest of all of these, and it works really well. So these are just a few of the many ideas that you can use to get all your marketing done for free. And like I said, they work. I haven't paid for my marketing in months.
Go Green, Get Green - It's a Virtual Thing
By Patty Juan
Going green--everyone should have it as a New Year's resolution this year, especially we business owners who rely on energy-hungry products and practices to run our businesses on a daily basis. There have been so many great articles and blogs on the topic, and they have all been extremely informative and inspiring.
But it's a new year again. And that's a great reason to start thinking and implementing ways to live and work greener, which is why this topic will be popping up once again here and there, I am sure, through many channels. This really is an important topic, and it really is a big deal in more ways than just one.
For the most part, a good number of business owners have already implemented ways of going green--without even realizing it! We've done so in part because we have all felt the impact of a bad economy in some way or another. Office supplies are more expensive, the price of gasoline makes us cringe, and even the cost of postage has jumped on the bandwagon. And added salt in that wound, customers just aren't spending as much on our products or services as they once were. This has left many business owners desperately looking for ways to save some green.
We've started saving money by refilling our ink cartridges, and we're cutting down on our paper cost by printing (when we have to) on both sides of the paper. These practices not only help us save some green, but they are green practices--wow, win-win!
But did you know that partnering with a virtual assistant can get your company on its way to going even greener?
As I mentioned, I have read many great articles recently on going green, and to my absolute delight, many of these mention the impact virtual assistants are having on green efforts worldwide. We've all heard how electronic communications and electronic file management can help the environment by saving paper. Virtual business support specialists are by profession, just that, virtual. There is little or no paper involved in the work we provide to our clients--fantástico!
However, I'm not sure everyone has heard of the following two key, important points that I came across, which truly did surprise me and which prompted me to write about "the virtual thing."
Taryn Merrick of Merrick Management and Media Services wrote that virtual assistants do not drive to work everyday. You see, virtual assistants typically work out of their homes. Fewer cars on the road reduce pollutants and emissions, not to mention gas consumption. And less gas consumption translates into less fossil fuel consumption. Bravo!
I would have never thought of this one--the virtual assistant's attire. Because virtual assistants work out of their homes, as noted in a blog posted by Michelle Murphy of Murphy Assistants, they are generally dressed casually. So there's less need to have those fancy business clothes dry cleaned so often. This translates into less dry-cleaning solvents being flushed into the wastewater. What a great point to bring to our attention.
Thank you, Michelle! Bravo, bravo!
And finally, have you considered the fact that virtual assistants use less energy than a conventional assistant?
Having been on "both sides of the coin," it is my opinion that virtual assistants complete a project for their clients much more efficiently than conventional, in-house assistants. Why? Virtual assistants don't have the distractions of an office setting and don't have unproductive "gossip" time.
As a virtual assistant, when I am working on a project for a client, the focus is generally solely on that project with little or no distractions. The best part is that there are never those "gossip" times, lunch hours, or breaks when computers and equipment are left running in your office--and let us not forget about the air conditioner or the heater. Bravissimo!
Bottom line here is that we all should be thinking of ways to save our planet. And what's so fascinating, is that it can really be so simple when it comes to our business practices. In most cases, not only will you be contributing to making our planet greener, but your company will benefit by keeping some of that green where it belongs--with you!
If you would like more information on going green during work or play, please visit the Go Green Initiative at http://www.gogreeninitiative.org and World Watch Institute at http://www.worldwatch.org.
Patty Juan
eXPERT Business Support Services
eXPERT Business Support Services
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patty_Juan
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6201693
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6201693
As A Small Business Owner You Should See Your New Website As An Investment!
When you are looking to employ a web designer for your new website, you need to consider several factors. Don't just choose a web designer based on cost alone, like most small business owners do. You may not have a huge budget to spend on having a website designed for your business, but think of it as an investment and not simply as a cost.
Instead think of it in these terms, the additional sales you make as a result of your new web site should more than pay for your investment. What you should therefore be asking your prospective designer is how many visitors they think you can expect to receive to your site in your specific niche.
If they can't tell you then simply don't use them!
With some quick keyword research, a good web designer will be able to give you fairly accurate estimates as to the number of visitors you will likely receive. From these estimates you should be able to get a good feel for how much your site is likely to make you each year in additional sales.
Don't fall in to the trap of choosing a designer simply because they produce fancy logos and clever spinning graphics. Logos and graphics don't sell your products or services, all they do in reality is they make the designer money!
What you really need is a designer who understands online marketing and who can deliver a web site that ranks well in the search engines and delivers lots of visitors. It's the content on the your web site that will convert visitors in to customers, not the logos and graphics.
Your designer needs to know what keyword phrases your potential customers are typing in to the search engines so that they can be included in your site content to help your website rank well and attract as many free visitors as possible. A good designer will know how to optimize your site for keyword phrases.
A designer who understands online marketing will also know that your content needs to be focused on your customer needs rather on your actual products and services to help your site convert more sales. They will also understand that lead generation and the capture of contact details are hugely important if you are to maximize the sales potential of your investment. If they don't recognize these key requirements of a small business web design, again don't use them.
A good small business website should be customer focused, simple to navigate and be strongly optimized to attract free search engine traffic, if it is not, then you are not realizing the full return on your investment and are literally leaving cash on the table!
Instead think of it in these terms, the additional sales you make as a result of your new web site should more than pay for your investment. What you should therefore be asking your prospective designer is how many visitors they think you can expect to receive to your site in your specific niche.
If they can't tell you then simply don't use them!
With some quick keyword research, a good web designer will be able to give you fairly accurate estimates as to the number of visitors you will likely receive. From these estimates you should be able to get a good feel for how much your site is likely to make you each year in additional sales.
Don't fall in to the trap of choosing a designer simply because they produce fancy logos and clever spinning graphics. Logos and graphics don't sell your products or services, all they do in reality is they make the designer money!
What you really need is a designer who understands online marketing and who can deliver a web site that ranks well in the search engines and delivers lots of visitors. It's the content on the your web site that will convert visitors in to customers, not the logos and graphics.
Your designer needs to know what keyword phrases your potential customers are typing in to the search engines so that they can be included in your site content to help your website rank well and attract as many free visitors as possible. A good designer will know how to optimize your site for keyword phrases.
A designer who understands online marketing will also know that your content needs to be focused on your customer needs rather on your actual products and services to help your site convert more sales. They will also understand that lead generation and the capture of contact details are hugely important if you are to maximize the sales potential of your investment. If they don't recognize these key requirements of a small business web design, again don't use them.
A good small business website should be customer focused, simple to navigate and be strongly optimized to attract free search engine traffic, if it is not, then you are not realizing the full return on your investment and are literally leaving cash on the table!
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