july 2008

What if you had a ton of expertise in online search engine tactics, and wanted to change the way search is currently being performed online? You’d start a new search engine of course.

Enter Cuil.

Cuil, an old Irish word for knowledge, has just entered cyberspace, and is ready to compete with the big sites. With a ton of experience between the founding members, and $30 million in start up funding, it’ll be interesting to see how big they truly get.

So of course I had to play. Yes, I’m number one under Lori Osterberg, and most of my other big sites are there too. But I did have to do some submitting for some of my smaller sites, and if you’re a current client, you’ve been submitted as well. 

So is it better than Google and Yahoo? Well considering it’s just days old, it’s still hard to say. Cover your bases, and stay tuned.

Even with many years of experience behind you, starting your own venture can be a little challenging.

Yet working with Howie with Quality 1st Plumbing Repair was easy - and a lot of fun. He knew what he wanted in a site, and coordinated it all with other forms of marketing already in production (like van wraps, etc).

Our goal was to develop a dynamic site that was clean, fun, and offers the team a variety of ways to market their business. We worked with colors, graphics and images to make the text stand out. And provided them with an easy way to convert customers from searchers on the web with a special coupon page prominently located within their navigation.

It’s not all about putting up a brochure - it’s about making your site workable for you and your clients.

Thanks Howie - we appreciate you - here’s to your success!

Looking for an interesting graphic to make your blog posts a little less white? Why not make a word cloud from Wordle.

Simply type in words that you want included. Or submit your URL from your blog or website. Wordle will take over and make an interesting word cloud for you.

From there you can turn your words horizontal, vertical, or mix it all up. Change the colors, and you’re ready to go. 

I was reading my June 2008 copy of Internet Retailer over the weekend. One of their articles was on reaching out and connecting with consumers in many different ways. The opportunities I’m sure will continue to grow. But even now, it’s time to think about who your customer is and how they prefer to reach out to you - not the other way around.

Their results showed that:

38 percent of businesses surveyed would be interested in using sites where consumers have the ability to tell manufacturers what they want

30 percent would be interested in having online shopping communities to combine buying power

22 percent are interested in having mobile phones to place orders and arrange deliveries

14 percent are interested in using social networks where shoppers share trends

The interesting thing that was also raised is while U.S. consumers show interest in these areas, China and Spain lead the way with wanting to use technology to its greatest advantage.

Many of the businesses profiled in this particular trade publication are multi-million dollar enterprises. They have a lot of resources to try many different things. Yet as a small business, you can follow in their footsteps.

What are you doing to reach out to your customers? If you only think of your clients on a local level, how can you start using different technologies to increase your market share?

Remember when you were a kid and had a ton of time to sit down and play a game of chess? As the years roll by, it’s hard to fit the time into your busy schedule. So even though you love it, you just never have the time to play.

That idea spawned a new business for Steve with Straight Up Chess. In January he hung his first prototype on the wall, and was playing 1 or 2 games per week with other co-workers. And the business was born.

StraightUpChess.com was designed to give chess players a new option for playing chess. Part artwork/part chess board, StraightUpChess.com allows people to view the detailed boards, learn more about this unique concept, and finalize their purchase in an integrated shopping cart. 

We had a lot of fun making Steve’s business idea become a reality, all in time for his first showing at the Denver 2008 Parade of Homes, which starts today.

Best of luck Steve! We’re honored to add you to our growing client list.

Have you ever spent a few minutes at your desk in thought, asking “I wonder…”. What if you could get instant answers?

I’ve found two great ways (there’s more, but I’ll stick to these two for now) that have brought me in a ton of answers.

I’m in the process of writing a book on social networking. So of course I’ve had a number of “I wonder…” questions come to mind lately. Because social networking is a changing and growing idea at the moment, I have a desire to get a lot of opinions from a lot of different people.

So I type into my Twitter account a question, and have immediate access to dozens of different thoughts.

Then I head over to my LinkedIn account and ask a question to the other Linked In members. In a few days time, I can wind up with dozens of answers - and a list of people interested in what I’m doing.

If you’ve never tried asking - or answering - questions, give it a try. It helps you build up your expertise, gives you exposure, and gets people connecting with you. 

What kinds of questions can you ask?

• Keep your questions broad enough to attract a varied audience, narrow enough to get great answers.
• Don’t ask questions that pertain directly to your products or services. “Who would be interested in using my virtual assistant services?” is not a good question. “What do you look for in a good virtual assistant?” would be a great question, and would lead people back into your profile.
• Make sure your questions are appropriate for your audience. The more relevant they are, the more answers you’ll receive.

A few weeks ago we attended a concert at our local botanic gardens for free. We went as a group, and enjoyed every minute of it. They handed out schedules, which I placed on our refrigerator door.

The last two Sunday’s we’ve been back - and spent well over $100 on concert tickets. It’s fun grabbing a picnic, sitting in the gardens and enjoying great music. [Even my 13 year old admitted to having fun!]

So was it worth it to offer one of their first concerts for free?

We’re also talking about becoming members, [we can get tickets at a lower cost] and we’ll definitely be doing this again next year.

What can you do to let your clients try out your services for free?

1. Start up an ezine. Let people know what you do by writing up great information.

2. Share your expertise on social sites. People do business with people that make a name for themselves. Places like LinkedIn and Facebook are great places to build up your name.

3. Create a blog. Blogs are made for you to share your thoughts and opinions. And they are  very easy to maintain.

4. Send out postcards for free services. Why not do a little traditional marketing as well. It’s best to use whatever source works for you.

 source of photo nazreth

It’s writing day for me today. As a part of writing day, I usually spend an hour or so surfing my favorite blogs and sites just to see what other people are saying.

I ran across a great blog post by The Wealthy Blogger that asked the question, “Paper or Electronic Planners?”

I’ve been using a Palm for years, and Andrew and I use it to sync our calendars together so one of us is always around for our daughter (to play chauffeur.) But this article opened up my eyes to realize how manual I still am.

On my desk I have a binder that’s filled with pages for me to track my daily and weekly tasks. I also have a section for long term goals and strategies, and have it all in order with dividers.

I also have a stack of sticky notes, and I use a ton of them each week. Some ideas are quick things I check into and toss. Others I stick to my planner pages, depending on their relevance.

I used to use the Franklin system, and loved having everything in one place. It was nice to carry around all of my information, and have it be in one place. I knew right where everything was, and was actually very to-the-point with the way I wrote.

Hmmm… this post made me think. Maybe I’ll have to reconsider the way I organize my information. As an Internet marketer people expect you to be on the top of technology. But isn’t the real purpose just to be on the top of organization?

photo source QualityC

We’re in a recession - there’s no way you grow your business by selling high end products to consumers, right?

Last night my daughter and I went to Michaels craft store. We always enjoy looking through the different departments and finding interesting crafts to do for a very low cost. But something was different this time.

Instead of their normal dollar bins in the front section, they were replacing them with shelves of Martha Stewart Crafts. If you’ve ever priced Martha Stewart Crafts, you know they are anything but inexpensive (relative to other craft supplies).

So in this time of cutting back, why is Michaels investing in such a high end craft product?

Even in times of cutting back, savings, or recession, people still like high quality products. And instead of investing in vacations or high priced ticket items, many are choosing to remain close to home, and having fun with things in their area.

So why not spend some money and create a high quality scrapbook of last years vacation?

Keep these 3 things in mind through the rest of 2008:

1. You don’t have to lower your prices to sell more. Sometimes you may even benefit from raising your prices - and finding the perfect niche to sell to.

2. How can you work with other complementary businesses to sell more products? Martha Stewart does this well, and is always connecting up with great companies to market her products through.

3. Don’t look at the market as a whole and concentrate on what your peers are saying. Focus on what you know best, and develop your own customer base that loves what you do. There’s always someone in every spectrum of the market - do what you do best and your target market will follow.

Have you ever gone into a bookstore, looking for a book that isn’t on their shelves? You inquire at the information desk, and they say they can order it for you.

At that point you have two choices: order from the bookstore and come back in a week to pick it up; or head home and order it online and wait for it to arrive in your mail.

What if you could have it on the spot? I found an article about a bookseller that’s doing just that. Blackwell’s is offering print-on-demand books while customers wait with their newest innovation - the Espresso Book Machine (EBM).

The machine currently prints 40 pages per minute, but this is expected to double  later this year. Which means you can have an average business title in under five minutes.

How cool is that?

This isn’t meant to take over what a bookstore is currently offering - it will merely complement it by offering more titles than a bookstore can offer.

I can’t wait until we see this technology here…

Sometimes business ideas change and move in a whole new direction.

When we first started working with Mark, he was in the sign business. But gradually he saw his business model changing, and decided to make the change to reach out to his true calling.

BMJFineArts.com is a new site that answers Mark’s needs. His goal was to get a new site up that allowed his clients to have access to a backend system to view images, make final selections, and finalize purchases. 

Together we strategized about what would work best for his business. Our goal is to always listen to exactly what the client wants, and find the best solution possible. In some cases fully customized options are required; and in other cases we can find existing solutions that fit the needs with minor adjustment. Such was the case for BMJFineArts.com We worked to find image galleries and a shopping cart system that would provide him with a top quality look and feel at the best price possible.

Thanks for joining our client list Mark - To Your Success!

I spend a lot of my time reading. In fact I love weekends because I can sit down with a good book, and finish at least one if not two. To me reading is all about finding out more than you already know, and expand your knowledge on , well, just about everything.

So I read everything from non-fiction to business books; teen books to self-help. Again, if someone mentions a book, I usually take a look at it.

There are two types of small business owners: the one who loves what they do and plods along barely surviving because they don’t know business. And the one who knows the only way to build the business is by learning about business.

That’s also part of why I like being online. You can find out so much information about anything you’re having trouble with. I usually start out asking Google any question I may have, and and learning what I can from there.

But sometimes it can be a little overwhelming.

One person is saying to mail postcards. Another is saying to build a website. A third is saying to invest in a product that will teach you all you need to know about marketing. And still another is offering you advertising  in their publication. What are you really supposed to do?

Marketing isn’t about following the advice of others - it’s about doing what’s best for your company. And yes, sometimes the best way to get ahead is by working with others. If you don’t know all about it, why not hire someone who does? If you have a “feeling” about someone and the service they’re offering, it may be wise to follow that instinct. The easiest way to get ahead is to follow in someone else’s footsteps. Why reinvent the wheel?

That’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past 20 years, and what I attribute my success to. We found mentors that we wanted to be like, and followed them to learn all we could. We purchased their products, bought their marketing materials, and attended their seminars.

Somewhere along the way we adapted to what they offered, and used it to create our own niche. And of course we moved on to other mentors.

I could easily list all of my mentors in my life. Each had a very important step in who I am today. And I thank each of them.

I also know I’ll have many more over the coming years. That’s how I continue to grow.

I run my business today by helping other small business owners grow to a whole new level for them. Everyone is in a different place. I can’t teach someone just starting out how to run a million dollar enterprise. They need the skills to create a solid foundation. Likewise someone that is making six figures needs refinement to move to a whole different level.

Where are you with your business? I’d love to hear what your questions are and how I can help you.

I love the Internet - there’s so many fun things to do. This one really made me laugh - yes, I’m going for a new position.

Check it out and send it to your friends.

Last year when Andrew and I sat down planning out this year, one of things we both realized was 2008 would be the year of going green. But we didn’t realize was how fast it would grow and take up a huge part of our culture. It’s wonderful to see something so important grow so quickly.

Everyone is doing some part in the going green concept. But what you may not realize is that building a significant web presence can also help you contribute. Imagine this.

Sarah has built up a website. She has a shopping cart system online and places all her products in the cart. She runs monthly specials, and emails a newsletter out every week to her clients. She collects orders from her clients 24/7, and promotes her business online to reach out to more people beyond her local area.

Two years ago she owned a brick and mortar store and mailed postcards to her clients monthly. She still has her storefront, but more and more of her clients are ordering directly online - there aren’t using their cars to come in and make a purchase. She also sells more because they can purchase at 11 am or 11 pm, whichever is more convenient.  And because she’s online, her local clients are now sharing her website with friends in other states and countries, giving her a much larger market share.

Don’t think it could work for you? Own a service business and can only work with local people? Think again.

There are always ways to grow your business online. You just have to think a little differently. Can you add products to complement your services? How about training materials to make your job easier?

It’s also nice receiving sales while you are sleeping, or away from the office. After a recent trip to the movies with my daughter, I came home to sales of 3 of my training classes. What could be better than that?

What are you doing to grow your business online?

Ahhh, the 4th of July. Our favorite time of the year. Right in the middle of summer, it’s a perfect time to take a few days off and hike in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. And that’s just what we did this past weekend.

Instead of heading up to the normal ski resort towns, we decided to head south to a new-to-us spot, La Veta Colorado. [Want to see photos - check out my Flickr.]

La Veta is a very small town with just a few stores, one main inn - the La Veta Inn - and a gorgeous view. It has so much potential … and yet there were so few families enjoying the area. Why?

One big minus is lack of a ski community. They did have one a number of years ago, but there’s nothing in the surrounding area. But in the summer, the hiking potential is amazing. We hiked one trail and only ran into one other family.

One big plus is it’s only a 2 1/2 hour drive from our home - about the same as the major ski resorts we usually head to. And there was very little traffic because everyone else was heading up the hill!

So how could they market their beautiful area more? These 3 things would be a step in the right direction.

1. Very few of the places that were there had a website. Not only could they attract sales from current visitors that decided to buy more when they return home, but they could also use it to attract more business from people looking for something to do on the weekends. With this area being only 1 1/2 hours from Colorado Springs, I’m sure they could gain a huge population - if only people knew it existed.

2. The stores were open odd hours for the community. In this type of community, people get up, have breakfast, and spend the day hiking, fishing, and enjoying the outdoors. The rain clouds moved in late afternoon - a perfect time for heading back to the hotel and doing some shopping. Guess what? The shops closed at 5. Being open til 7 or 8 - especially on the weekends - could raise their profits.

3. With such a great environment, why aren’t they touting themselves as the easier way to enjoy the Rockies in the summer? One of the worst things about the Rocky Mountains from Denver is there’s one way up the mountain. Which means hours of sitting on the highway both going up and coming home. Hardly the thing you want to do on a Sunday evening. Make that a plus - and advertise it to all who live across the front range community.

3.5 All right, I just had to throw in a bonus so I ...

What’s the fastest growing way to sell your products and services?

Online of course.

It’s been estimated that up to 85 percent of all people who regularly spend time online also make purchases online - up over 10 percent from just 2 years ago.

If you’ve been following my ezine for any length of time, you know that I teach people how to capture attention from your website or your blog. But did you know it takes more than a simple website or blog to capture attention? It’s not what you say, but how you say it that matters most.

Sales Letters - Yes, those lsales letter set up for my programs.  I suggest you follow the same format with your sites.

Blog Posts - Sure, you can add just a few lines a few times a month. But will anyone truly follow you with so little content? Nothing is better than receiving an email from a potential client saying, “I loved your post on _____, and it motivated me to contact you.” But your posts have to start with quality information that people are looking for in order to achieve those results.

PPC Ads - Did you know you can double, even triple your sales just by changing one word in your ads? I’ve seen the results. It’s amazing how little things can make a huge difference in your bottom line. Writing ads isn’t easy - it takes time to develop the right combination of words, and a whole lot of testing to make sure you get the results you’re looking for.

As more businesses find success online, your goal isn’t just to get online, it should be to succeed online. Just a few simple words and a handful of pictures won’t do it. It’s all about what you say!

photo source abcdz2000

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Are you looking for a writer that can help you achieve the results you’re looking for? Maybe it’s time to hire someone that knows how to write for the Internet.