Mary Lou Kayser

The Best Superbowl Commercial for 2012

Mary Lou — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:49:00 +0000

Among the dogs and babies and beautiful bodies, there was one Superbowl commercial that stood head and shoulders above the rest this year. It wasn’t tantalizing or seductive or funny. It wasn’t cute or clever or witty. It was poignant, thoughtful, reflective, raw. It took viewers to a deep, private place no other commercial in this [...]

What You Will Miss

Mary Lou — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:00:10 +0000

What I did not anticipate when I made the switch from employee to entrepreneur is what I would miss from the workplace. Turns out, this is fairly common. Running a business from home has many benefits – the cliché of working in your pajamas, for one – but the truth is, for all its challenges, [...]

Running the Amazon Kindle eBook Numbers

Mary Lou — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:33:39 +0000

More than 5,000,000 people got an Amazon Kindle during the holidays. And just about every one of those Kindles was empty of content. Which is why content creators – writers, artists, designers, movie makers, and the like – have never had as great an opportunity to get their work in front of hungry audiences as [...]

Guy Kawasaki’s Simple Business Plan Template

Mary Lou — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:57:04 +0000

If you have been looking for a simple business plan template, look no further. Collaborating with Microsoft, Guy Kawasaki has created a terrific business plan template in Word Web App that can be customized and then downloaded to your computer. This template is clean, simple, and easy to understand. For each section, Kawasaki tells you [...]

Are SOPA and PIPA This Generation’s McCarthyism?

Mary Lou — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:26:06 +0000

Today is the day Wikipedia, Reddit, Craigslist and a handful of other familiar online sites are protesting the two bills before the House and Senate, SOPA and PIPA, respectively. If you visit any of them, you will see something like what Wikipedia has on its site today: SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA [...]

Why Google Plus Will Blow Facebook Away

Mary Lou — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:35:23 +0000

Google plus will blow Facebook away in 2012 and beyond as a tool for business and brand building, among other things. While Facebook may have the current social media edge, Google has big plans to take over that coveted spot with Google plus. Deep pockets and a fierce competitive spirit almost guarantees it won’t be [...]

Is ICANN Leading Us Toward Vanity Domain Names?

Mary Lou — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:26:37 +0000

Based on a recent report about what’s going on at ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the opportunity to buy a vanity domain name like dot Coca Cola or dot Nike may not be that far away. Not everyone is excited about this possibility, as opponents predict we will see a whole [...]

Are Business Cards Obsolete in a Digital World?

Mary Lou — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:25:08 +0000

Are business cards obsolete in a digital world? Some people say they are. I completely disagree. Not only are business cards an inexpensive way to market yourself and your business at live events, if designed well, they can serve as visual reminders to people when they come across another one of your messages in the [...]

What’s Your Word for 2012?

Mary Lou — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:46:56 +0000

It’s that time of year when many of us make all sorts of plans for the coming year. Encouraged by Mari Smith, a social media speaker and author, I am choosing one word that will act as my theme for the next 12 months. My word for 2012 is: STRATEGY. Strategy is defined as: a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems forobtaining a specific [...]

About Your Website

Mary Lou — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:50:45 +0000

Do looks matter? On the web, your first point of contact is most often your website. Old adages such as you never get a second chance to make a first impression apply online as well as off. So about your website. What impression is it leaving on visitors? Do they know what you want them [...]