PR Branding Zone: PR, Branding & Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

Basic Business Communications is Fundamental #smallbiz #tips

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:28:00 +0000

I have encountered several situations recently in which business failed to do the most basic of communications which is to tell customers important followup information.

I recently registered to attend an industry conference and I was able to use the same form for my hotel reservation. I received an email confirmation that included info about my conference registration, the cancellation policy and the hotel cancellation policy. There is was ZERO information in the email that confirmed my hotel reservation. A colleague had also registered and reserved the room at the same time and had the same concern. I called the registration center and asked them to verify that my room had been secured. The agent check my registration and confirmed that my room was reserved and said that I would receive a confirmation for the room with in 7 business days.

My issue with this is that there would have been no need for me to call anyone if the email confirmation simply stated that the hotel reservation confirmation would be sent separately within 7 business days.

This is an example of what I call "basic communications." It is not groundbreaking to tell your customers what to expect and it typically doesn't take much effort to include an extra line or two in your communications. When communicating to customers and clients you should do everything you can to cover your bases - period.

Another example of poor basic communications I recently received and email that I had not submitted an online application that I was sure that I had completed. I spent 35 minutes one evening trying to submit my information. I even used the "help" button which showed me a screen shot of a submit button on the very same page I had open without a submit button. The next day I called the office for help and they directed to send an email to the person in charge of the application. I sent the email requesting assistance in submitting my application or for support in finding the missing submit button.

I received a response back with in 20 minutes that stated that the individual was aware of that the submit button was not available on the application and that my application was fine and I didn't need to do anything else.

1. Why on earth did they send me an email stating they didn't have my application?
2. Why didn't think to send a follow-up basic email communication to let me and other users know that the "submit" capability was actually not available?

I wasted approximately an hour of my time for an issue that could have be settled with a basic email communication updating me to the circumstances.

Tip: Always communicate information necessary for customers/clients to know. If your system is glitchy let customers know immediately. If you plan to send them follow-up information - let them know when to expect. Do leave your audience guessing or confused - ever.

Small Business Resources

Making Sense of Health Care Reform: Seven Basics for Small-Business Owners

While it may take some time to become familiar with the new regulations, it is important now for small-business owners to understand the effect of health care reform on their companies and their employees. This white paper explains seven primary components of the Affordable Care Act:

Small-business tax credits
The grandfather provision
Non-discrimination
FSA, HSA, and HRA plans and over-the-counter medicines
Coverage for young adult dependents
W-2 reporting
The CLASS Program

The Essentials of the Online Marketing in 2012 - Free Kit

The Essentials of Online Marketing in 2012, brings together the latest in information, coverage of important developments, and expert commentary to help with your Online Marketing related decisions.

The following kit contents will help you get the most out of your Online Marketing research:

8 Tips for Turning Facebook 'Likes' into Customers

Learning LinkedIn From the Experts: How to Build a Powerful Business Presence on LinkedIn

Top 5 #Free Resources for #Business to Achieve Social Media Success #social #smallbiz

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:08:00 +0000

Top 5 Free Resources for Business Leaders to Achieve Social Media Success

View more presentations from shakone2000

Top Six #List #Inventions that Stand the Test of Time #smallbiz #business

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:18:00 +0000

Some great inventions and innovations have come and gone and others have made their permanent mark on our society. There are many budding inventors around the world hoping to produce the next big thing. The most successful inventors in our history are those that have patented products that have not been replaced by better innovations. Here is my top five inventions that have stood the test of time:

Zipper - Everyone has something in their closet or home with zipper. Can you imagine no zippers on your running jacket?

Shoe Lace - You don't always need them but nothing other than velcro and the "slip on" has replaced. Still a useful invention.
Velcro - A genius invention that hasn't needed much improvement - in fact there are more uses for it than ever.
Electric Car - Studebaker's first cars in 1902 were electric cars. The next innovation was the gas powered car. Today electric cars whether hybrid or 100% electric are the sustainable solution to reducing the carbon imprint of driving.

Hangers - You can deny that the almighty hanger has stood the test of time. Nothing has really replaced hangers on a wide scale. Sure you can by some Velvet Touch Hangers which I must say are quite amazing, however the basic premise is the same - it is a hanger with velvet. The hanger is the invention that keeps on giving.

Clocks - You won't find too many 11 In. Natural Cuckoo Clocks in people's home but you will find at least one mechanical or digital clock in most homes and offices.

Traffic Lights - There are many types but can you imagine roads without them? Probably not that is why they are a staple at most intersections.

Add to this list. Feel free to submit your idea for inventions that have stood the test of time via comments.

Recommended Reading:

A Recipe for Survival and Growth in the New Economy: In today's post-recession economy, how do you deliver products and services customers are willing to pay for, and believe are the best solution available? This white paper offers best practices and practical insights on:

Five core business process changes that span all product activities, align to your company's business objectives and strategies, and are based on best practices
How to transition your product innovation strategy into a core business competency based on listening to the voice of your customer
Turning your fragmented and inwardly-focused product organizations into an integrated and outward-looking team

Download your copy of this recipe for Survival and Growth in the New Economy today!

Top 5 Reasons to Call or Visit Your #Customers #smallbiz #lists #clients

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:01:00 +0000

It is easy to maintain a good open communication with your clients via email. But with limited "voice" contact in our daily lives when should you actually call your client or even setup an in-person meeting.

Here are your top five reasons to call or have an in-person meeting with your customers:

5. Your customer or client has been concerned about what you are actually doing for them.
4. Your contract is about to expire in 60 days and you need to find out if they intend on renewing.
3. Your client recently had a bad experience interfacing with one of your employees
2. Your replied to your client's email, but they sent you an email wondering why you haven't replied back to their first email

and the #1 reason to call or have an in-person meeting with your customers is...

1 # The person who signed your contract is no longer with your client's company

Do these sound obvious? Well you would be surprised. Here is an example of #2: I recently sent a complaint email to a company that I hired to do work for me that I needed feedback on an email that I had sent and I was wondering why I had not gotten a response from them. Another 24 hours went by with no response to my second email and so I called my vendor. Turns out they had responded to my first and second email and didn't consider the fact that I probably was not receiving their emails (duh?). So if I didn't call them they probably wouldn't have continued to respond to my emails vs. trying to find out why I wasn't receiving their responses. The issue? A word in the subject line was blocking my servers from delivering their emails.

Bottom-line: My vendor should have picked up the phone to call me after learning I had not received their first email, even if it was only to see if I had checked my spam folder (the emails were not in spam).

Check These Out:

Receive Your Complimentary Guide NOW!

"7 Steps to Managing SEO During Site Redesign"

Considering a site redesign? If so, you're probably contemplating all of the potential benefits that a redesigned site will have on your inbound marketing program. Perhaps your goal is to achieve an easier to use or navigate website, or to migrate to a new CMS in order to scale production and publication of new content. Perhaps the intent of your redesign is to give your presence a much-needed facelift. Get it Now

Take your emails beyond the inbox. Start empowering powerful word-of-mouth advertising with iContact.

"The Ultimate Inbound Link Building Guide"

If you're a professional B2B marketer responsible for driving inbound leads, this guide is a must read.

You'll discover:

How to drive more traffic from your core SEO, content marketing and social media efforts
What type of inbound links are most valued by search engines
How to avoid shady link-building tactics
Six key strategies for creating effective and safe inbound links

Get this guide to learn how to effectively build inbound links and drive more quality traffic to your site.

Offered Free by: Optify, Inc. GET IT NOW

#ebook:New eBook: How to Master Facebook Marketing in 10 Days" #facebook #marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Receive Your Complimentary eBook NOW!

"New eBook: How to Master Facebook Marketing in 10 Days"

Wondering how to quickly build a faithful following on Facebook?

Whether it's Facebook's complexity or simplicity that has you stymied, if you put in just a little effort-- for 10 days--you can boost your Facebook interactions by 10, 20, even 30 percent or more.

In HubSpot's new eBook “How to Master Facebook Marketing in 10 Days” you'll learn how to:

Evaluate successful Facebook pages
Understand Facebook best practices
Speak Facebook-ese
Create custom Welcome Pages
Create a content calendar
Understand Edge
Rank and the art of engagement
Put on a show
Create a contest
Run a targeted ad campaign
Use Facebook's analytics package 'Insights'

Start garnering fans and customers who will spend real money as a result of your social marketing magic. Download the new eBook “How to Master Facebook Marketing in 10 Days” now!

http://pradviser-net.tradepub.com/free/w_hubs20/prgm.cgi

#SMALLBIZ Deals: 20% Off Yola Silver and $20 Off Online Store

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:29:00 +0000

Yola Affiliate Newsletter

20% Off 1 Year Yola Silver and $20 Off 1 Year Online Store

Two new exciting offers: 20% off 1 Year Yola Silver and $20 off 1 year Yola Online Store.

20% off 1 year of Yola Silver (originally $99.95 - now $79.95, which is just $6.66 a month!)
Coupon code: 20SILVER
Available: 2/22 - 2/29
As a reminder, Yola Silver includes easy-to-use site creator, domain pointing/hosting, free advertising credits worth $100, premium phone support + more!

Get 20% Off 1 Year Yola Silver with code 20SILVER. Offer valid thru 2/29. Build your site now!

$20 off 1 Year Yola Online Store

$20 off 1 year of Yola Online Store (originally $100/year - now $80, which is just $6.66 a month!)
Coupon code: STORE20
Run dates: 2/22 - 2/29
With advanced features like tax and shipping integration, the acceptance of over 15 payment methods, and the ability for customers save their profile into your store, Yola Online Store has all the features you need to create and run a professional store.

Get $20 Off 1 Year Yola Online Store with code STORE20. Offer valid thru 2/29. Build your site now!

New Yola Silver feature: Free stock images

Yola just added a new feature to the Yola Silver hosting package: access to over 3,000 quality stock images for FREE! Yola and Fotolia handpicked these images specifically for small businesses, so this is a quick and easy way to add professional looking photos to give your website some extra shine.
Yola Silver customers can access this feature now through the Sitebuilder. All they have to do is add a picture widget and click on "Find Stock Images" or "Yola Images" to browse and add a free image.

OfficeLive Users: The Cheap Easy Solution to Replace OfficeLive Site #smallbiz

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:30:00 +0000

On January 31, 2012, Microsoft announced that it will discontinue the OfficeLive free website hosting and storage service. There are a lot of the website builders out there Word Press and Yola make it incredibly fast and easy to replace your OfficeLive website. You can buy a domain name from GoDaddy.com and be up and running in a few days. The folks at office live have also made it way easier to transition your domains to another provider. I use GoDaddy.com and they make it pretty easy to transfer a domain to them. I personally have two sites in OfficeLive (http://pradviser.net and http://retailsecrets.net) and now I have to migrate them to another content management system. I recommend all current OfficeLive users to migrate their sites to Yola.com. I have been a Yola Silver customer for almost three years I have over seven websites in Yola and I must tell you it is far better than OfficeLive and way easier to use!

Top Benefits of Migrating to Yola from OfficeLive:

- Easy user interface - Html and Text WYSIWYG widgets - Google Adsense integration
- Preview before Publishing - Easy Navigation editing - Google Analytics Integration
- Social Media Widgets - Use flash, javascript or query and much more!

This is the actual Yola user interface. As you can see it is easier to use and there is more options to enhance pages.

Download the PDF of the above image: Click Here

Although Yola is free for up to 5 websites with free hosting and limited file storage you are much better off buying the Yola Silver Package if you plan to launch more than one website. With the silver package you can build 25 websites, plus receive a free custom domain, 5 GB of storage, premium phone and email support, unlimited premium templates (which are usually way more customizable headers and site backgrounds) Plus, Get FREE advertising credits worth $100 with every Yola Silver purchase. Limited offer, sign up now!

Here are some of my websites in Yola today check them out:

http://glutenfreedays.com/ (using premium template in Silver Package)

http://emailmarketingfreeoffers.com/ (free template)
http://localeventplanner.com (free template)

http://enewsletterfreeoffers.com/ (free template)

http://retailsecret.com/ (free template)

One more thing: There is a downside to web-based website builders with free hosting - all sites are on the same servers so you suffer the consequences when there is server outage. But if your website is not mission critical to your business, then if you lose some up time it won't make that much of a difference. Check out the service providers to find out what type of security is used on the servers.

It helps to know something about html. Here is some recommended Do-It-Yourself Website Reading:

*FREE*Download the Build Your Own WordPress Site Guide now, and read it on your computer today! With this free guide you will also receive daily updates on new cool websites and programs in your email for free courtesy of MakeUseOf.

The Really, Really, Really Easy Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Own Website: For Absolute Beginners of All Ages (Really, Really, Really Easy Step-By-Step Guide To...)

Building Web Sites All-in-One For Dummies

Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way Using HTML and CSS, 2nd Edition

Creating a Web Site: The Missing Manual

Good luck folks!

Hey Post Office: Shelve Rules and Make Cash #news

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:03:00 +0000

I walked into a U.S. Post Office (USPS) the other day with intent to pay more than the cost of postage. I wanted to send my legal size envelope filled with about 10 pages with a delivery confirmation. You would think that if a customer wanted delivery confirmation they could pay simply for it right? WRONG!

Turns out although I had a large envelope that it was not "thick" enough for a delivery confirmation. I was told I had to send my envelope priority mail to take advantage of delivery confirmation. I didn't want to spend that much - period.

But here is the bigger issue: if the post office is struggling to stay relevant in modern times when fewer people are snail mailing and more are making online payments does it make sense to turn down money people are willing to spend?

I posed that very question to the clerk at the post office and her response was "Well if we allowed delivery confirmation on any size envelope the postal carrier would be spending so much time scanning at each location it would take him a very long time." Have I stepped back in time? Is it 1989 again? Ok really? Isn't the issue that the postal carriers have less mail to deliver? Hasn't the USPS been cutting back on hours, closing locations and laying off employees because of the lack of volume?

It seems that rules in place from 20 years ago are based on the balance sheet from 20 years ago. It is time for the USPS to take a good long hard look at why they are still doing things today to determine if it makes since for the actual mail volume of today.

Something tells me that if the US Post Office suddenly lifted the archaic thickness rule for delivery confirmation that millions of people would NOT flock to their nearest post office leading to an overload of letter deliveries. I guarantee that people will still choose online transactions as they do today, but when they absolutely needed to snail mail and confirm a letter they would do so.

I can't think of any reason behind maintaining a silly rule that prevents a business from making money. If people are opening their wallets to spend any extra money on their mail why on Earth would you prevent them from doing so.

So U.S. Post Office - for crying out loud lift the ancient thickness rule for delivery confirmation and start making money off of people willing to spend it.

Free Email Marketing from iContact: Reach out to your clients and customers with targeted and personalized messages via iContact. iContact offers its service free for life for up to 100 contacts. Send greetings and promotional emails throughout the year to remind your customers of why they need you. Click here to start your free subscription for free e-newsletters.

Top 3 CFO and Accounting Resources to Jump Start 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Bean Counter to Business Leader: The Changing Role of the CFO"

Five Steps to Becoming a CFO Wizard.

Download this white paper to find out how to connect technology to strategies that support the evolution of a CFO to a "wizard"— someone who performs the role of trusted advisor, prophet, sorcerer, and more. Understand how taking a fresh look at current business processes and wisely choosing which ones to improve can ensure an escape from the transaction-focused bean counter role. The 5 strategies include:

Improving visibility and context of the data employees need to succeed

Identifying and resolving a business pain that is reducing profits

Ensuring financial goals and business goals are linked—and attained

Being a watchdog and vocal supporter of projects that support regulatory compliance (IFRS) and technology investment (XBRL)

Empowering the organization: ensuring decisions can be made at the right levels

click here to download (you may sign in or use a linkedin login)

"Best Practices in SOX Compliance"

It is mandatory for public companies across the US to comply with the provisions of the SOX Act.

Organizations may face financial penalties as well as reputational hassles in case of failure to comply, which can, in turn, lead to inefficient processes and controls within non-complying organizations. Experts believe that investors' confidence in organizations can be shaken owing to lack of accountability, reliability, and accuracy in corporate disclosure

click to download (you may sign in or use a linkedin login)

CFO Magazine

Each issue of CFO provides 450,000 senior financial executives with the sophisticated analysis and innovative ideas they need to add value to their organizations.

From refinancing to reengineering, from insurance to information systems, CFO takes the latest financial thinking and shows how it is being implemented in the country's most innovative organizations. In the increasingly competitive arena of corporate finance, CFO keeps its readers on the inside track.

Request Your Complimentary Magazine Subscription NOW! (you may sign in or use a linkedin login)

B2B Blogging eBook - Basics, Best Practices... and Blunders

Why are we blogging? If you're reading this eBook, you're probably working on a blog for your company, or perhaps considering one. And it's very likely that at some point in this process you've asked yourself, "Hmm… tell me again why we're doing this?!" There are lots of good reasons – and you've probably heard them all – but we contend it all gets back to one thing…Making Money.
click here to download

2012 Small Biz Jumpstart: Learn to Maximize Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

We’ve joined forces with TradePub.com to offer you free industry magazines, white papers, webinars, podcasts, and more. No coupons, credit cards, special codes, or purchases are necessary. Publications are entirely FREE to those who qualify. Select from the offers below, or click here to browse our full list of available titles. No someone else who would like this? Forward this email to a friend.

	Facebook Page Marketing Find out the recent Facebook updates and how they can benefit marketers.		Making Your Web Site Safe for Online Buyers Learn how to provide true web site security for your online customers.


	13 Business Blogging Mistakes & Their Easy Fixes Find out how to publish a successful business blog.		How To Use Outbound Telemarketing Services To Increase Your Sales Deploying an effective Outbound Telemarketing service for your business can significantly increase your revenues and achieve sales efficiencies that would also result in a higher level of customer satisfaction.


	How to Build a Social Media Campaign As B2B marketing continues to change, the importance of social media grows. Read this white paper to learn how to build a social marketing campaign.		How to Use Twitter for Business: A Beginner\'s Guide Learn how to use Twitter to extend your reach, create buzz, listen to and network with your customers and prospects.


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Click here for more Free Business Magazines & Downloads!

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Redesigning Your Website in 2012? Read this first!

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:30:00 +0000

If you have been contemplating tossing out your existing website and putting up another fabulous new fancy website you must do so with ease and caution.

I have worked on websites for numerous companies and provided quality search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure that the website shows up in search engines like Google among page one search results for keywords relevant to the small business. It takes time, patience and a bit of mixing and matching various terms in the code of a website to accomplish the ideal search result. Unfortunately, I have watched the owners of the websites do the unthinkable - toss out my SEO content for a new beautiful yet un-SEO'd website.

Typically small business owners have no idea what they have done until they start searching for their new website using the old keywords that used to turn up their website on page one. They just don't understand why their site no longer appears on page one. They didn't realize the equity they had in the content that populated the website the yearned to redesign.

Planning for a Website Redesign

There are few things you should do before you take down your old website:
1. Leave your old site up during your redesign: Ever go to a web page that says "under construction"? I hate that and YOUR customer hates it too. They don't care that your website is going to be new and fabulous. They want your phone number or your address or your list of products and services. Keep your existing website LIVE while the new website is built behind the scenes. This will ensure a smooth transition on search engines.

***Free Whitepaper Download****
Website Redesign and Search Engine Optimization – Keys For Success
Learn...

What happens to traffic to old Web pages?
What happens to Search Engine rankings if the pages are changed or removed?
Can the Web site drop in the rankings?
How long can it take for the new Web site to be indexed?
Is there a risk of the Web site receiving a Spam penalty for duplicate content?
How are backlink values transferred to the new site?

Click here for the download form

2. Take Note of Your Title Tags: What is a title tag? Well if your website shows up high in search results I bet you have really good title tags on your old website. The title tags are the words that appear at the very top of your browser (as shown circled at right in Safari.) Keep a copy of your title tags to use for your new website.

***Free e-Book Download***

7 Strategic Steps for Internet Presence to Make Your Business Boom
Learn...

Basic facts of website usage
Website challenges for small businesses
Seven simple steps to internet strategy

Click here for the e-book download form

3. Keep Copies of Your Old Content: Don't throw out the baby with the bath water! Go through each page of your website and copy all of your content. This will make it extremely easy to replicate the search results of your old website should the new website content not make the grade.

***Free Whitepaper Download***

Four Ways to Supercharge Your Small Business' Online Presence
Learn...

Find Partners Who Offer a One-Stop Online Toolbox
Develop and Maintain a Dynamic, Personalized Website Experience
Unleash the Potential of E-Commerce
Put Bodyguards at the Portal Door to Secure Your Business
Bonus Tip: Provide Employees with Tools that Help Improve Efficiency

Click here for the whitepaper download form

The above outlines the basics, but if you need more information check out one of the free download offers on this page for more in-depth suggestions for our website project.

-------------------------
Free Email Marketing

iContact: Welcome your clients and customers into the New Year with a great personalized e-card made in iContact. iContact offers its service free for life for up to 100 contacts. Then once you get you Happy New Year card out to them keep up the momentum with a monthly or quarterly e-newsletter. Click here to start your free subscription for free e-newsletters.

Top 5 Free E-Resources for Small Business in 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

If you have been procrastinating on advancing your business using social media or a new technology? Are you clueless about current marketing efforts but don't want to spend money going to a conference? Jump start the new year by reading a free e-book, participating in a free webinar or signing up to send 100 free e-newsletters to reach your customers

Free Email Marketing iContact Welcome your clients and customers into the New Year with a great personalized e-card made in iContact. iContact offers its service free for life for up to 100 contacts. Then once you get you Happy New Year card out to them keep up the momentum with a monthly or quarterly e-newsletter. Click here to start your free subscription for free e-newsletters.
Email Marketing Newsletters: Email Essentials

Have no clue how to increase your email newsletter readership? Need ideas for content. Signup for free to receive Email Essentials, a weekly eNewsletter (Tuesdays) that offers keen perspective on what counts and what works in email metrics and campaigns right now. Email and e-commerce veteran, Sherry Chiger, offers benchmark metrics, close analysis and real-life case studies of email marketing that measures up. Click here to start your subscription

3. Free e-Book: The Top 10 B2B Marketing Mistakes...And How to Avoid Them

A crowd-sourced eBook lead by Dianna Huff and Mac McIntosh. They asked their respective networks to submit the top ten B2B marketing mistakes they see other marketers making. From email to social media, people expressed their opinions – and often quite passionately! Click here to download your free copy

4. Free Video Tutorial: Effective Email Marketing Strategies
This is a great one. Just listen, watch and learn. The course offers strategies for building a quality list of subscribers and maintaining a company's brand and reputation by complying with spam laws, creating valuable email content, and ensuring emails are branded consistently. It also covers crafting marketing emails--from format and design to content--and analyzing the effectiveness of email campaign. Sign up for the free video tutorial

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Are Your Systems Out of Date with Current Technology?

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:21:00 +0000

I paid a bill using my banks online bill payment. I included in the memo portion of the check my name - reason for payment - account number. Bill needed to arrive 2/1/2011 - it did ... company cashed the check the same day and funds were transferred to the company on 2/1/2011. I verified online that my account had be debited for the check amount on time.

Received a late notice on 2/10/11 that my payment had not been received and that I would be charged a $50 late fee. That was interesting sense they had my money for 10 days.

Called the company on the morning of 2/11/2011 with the check number in hand to prove my case. They looked up my account and said - oh yes we received your payment on 2/1/2011. They added that because I sent via my bank's online bill payment we didnt receive the "payment coupon" , so it took nine days for your bill to clear in our system so it appeared late.
Excuse me? I had my name - reason for payment - account number in the memo section, I said. They said well without the "coupon" (which by the way is really a "statement" - imbeciles) we can't process your payment for several days. Uh couldnt the idiot that took nine days to figure out the lack of coupon issue see that my payment was credited on 2/1/2011?
So without a SPECIFIC PIECE OF PAPER this company can't credit a customers account despite the fact that the customer provided name - reason for payment - account number on the check. Info that is completely sufficient for other companies. But they were able to cash my check and credit my account but not that I paid it on time.
Does any of this makes sense to you folks?
If your business is this dependent on paper - update your processes immediately. Its wastes everyone's time.
FYI - no late fee for me.

Must be a member to become a member?

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:46:00 +0000

This borders on the absurd...
I am looking for professional organizations for the event industry to promote http://localeventplanner.com/
Meeting Planners International has links to membership but when you click JOIN it prompts for the username and password...

So you have to be a member to become a member?
http://www.mpiweb.org/Membership

This beyond ridiculous...I wonder what their membership numbers are like???
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Free Ebooks on Social Media and more

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:13:00 +0000

	How to Grow Your Business Using Online Marketing This guide will introduce the basics, including the most effective strategies for pay-per-click ads, search engine optimization, email marketing and social media campaigns. YOU WILL RECEIVE FREE PRICE QUOTES FROM MULTIPLE ONLINE MARKETING VENDORS BY PHONE/EMAIL.		Using Social Media to Connect With Your Customers Online -Free 93 Page eBook Social media isn\'t just a list of destinations. It\'s a new standard of expectations. Connect with your customers online or your competitors will.


	The eBook eBook: How to Turn Your Expertise into Magnetic Marketing Material Everybody\'s talking about eBooks. Wouldn\'t it be nice to find an efficient, effective way to write them? To create the kind of compelling, credibility-building content that customers, influencers and prospects seek, share and read? Look no further. The eBook eBook is here and available for free.		The Myth of Multitasking: How \'Doing It All\' Gets Nothing Done - Free Book Summary Know in ten minutes what takes others hours to learn, and keep up with the latest trends in the industry.

Click here for more Free Business Magazines & Downloads!

Unprecedented: Third-Party Social Networks Take Lead in Consumer Advertising

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Did you ever think the day would come that major consumer companies would promote a third party website in advertising over their own proprietary website? Well that time has come in a big way.

Macy's recent one day sale tv ad ended with the logo in the center and the logos for Facebook and Twitter underneath for two second before they transitioned to just the Macys website. There are several other consumer commercials that have opted to exclude the URL for their proprietary website in order to display their co-branded Facebook URL such as Facebook.com/companyname.

This is remarkable. The top social networking sites are so wildly popular that they have become MORE important than company specific websites. Companies have learned that they must be where the crowds are or else. There has never been a time in the history of consumer advertising in which a company would direct its customers to another company. The closest example in history would be ads that list stores in which the advertised product could be purchased.

The way in which businesses go to market has completely changed. What are you doing to assimilate?

Learn More:
The State and Future of Twitter 2010 - (FREE REPORT) Twitter has flourished into a living and breathing organism whose characteristics are dictated and personified through their Tweets and the Tweets of those they follow.
The (VERY) Unofficial Guide To Facebook Privacy -(FREE EBOOK) To fully understand the privacy of Facebook and how it's likely to evolve, you need to understand one thing...Facebook executives want everyone to be public.

Social Networking Spaces: From Facebook to Twitter and Everything In Between (Beginning)
Get Connected: The Social Networking Toolkit for Business
Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day

Top Way to Increase Customer Loyalty in a Down Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 19:00:00 +0000

In hard times, people doing more for each other is human nature. We all know people who have been unemployed for a year more in our personal lives, but what about your customers? Has a customer been unable to pay your fee in recent months? If so, did you consider giving your service or product for free?

There is no marketing strategy that exists today that will give you the same customer loyalty as a simple act of kindness. Give a customer a freebie here or there and you have a loyal customer.

I recently learned that a good friend of mine who has been unemployed for 1.5 years and is very sick with no health insurance. He did not want to visit a doctor in fear of racking up yet another stack of bills he can't pay. He called his long time doctor and who asked him to come in for an office visit and that she was not worried about insurance but rather my friend's health.

My friend was examined by his doctor and was found to need a number of medications. The doctor gave him enough free samples for the prescribed dose and advised him to get the cheapest probiotic at the pharmacy. As the doctor was leaving the examination room, my friend asked how much the bill would be for the visit. Cringing for price, the doctor simply responded,"There is no charge for today. Feel better."

Doctor's can charge between $75 -$250 a visit. The word of mouth that will follow this doctor's act of kindness cannot be accurately quantified, but I believe it is worth years more of paid visits from my friend and anyone else he knows. He told me about his experience and many others. If the doctor excuses the office visit fee for 10 people per month .. it would cost $2500 based on the highest estimated office visit fee. That is not a lot of money to invest in your business without actually writing a check to someone else for your advertising. If you can simply giveaway your time or existing product to a needy patient, why not?

Excusing a small service fee or giving away product that can help your existing customers continue to do business with you will go further than any advertisement you can write a check for.

Figure out how many freebies you can offer to struggling customers and let acts of kindness create a trail of loyalty and referrals that with give you a return on your investments way beyond the economic downturn.

Small Businesses: How to Make the Right Signage Choices

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:48:00 +0000

You may call your business "Joe Miller and Associates", but is that the right information for your building signage?
The answer is no.

If the name of your business doesn't say anything about what your business is, then chances are the average Joe (no pun intended) will have no idea if your business is a law firm, insurance company or travel agency. If you do not run a franchise with a recognizable name, consider ordering signage that is generic.

Three years ago, I would have said that branding is everything, but in a down economy your name is not much worth to you if no one is patronizing your business if they don't know what it is.

This advice is for business located in a strip mall, on busy highway or in professional building with other businesses. If you have a stand alone operation (you are the occupant of your office or store location) branding should be the highlight of your signage. But if you are running a restaurant in a strip mall with three or more stores your signage should be the type of food you serve.

Example: Mary Ann's Bistro is a nice name - but if someone driving by on a busy highway saw it they wouldn't know what type of food the restaurant served. But if the sign said "Mary Ann's Italian Bistro" or simply "Italian Restaurant" in bold letters people will know what they can get from the place immediately.

There is a really great camera store that I drive by every day on a very busy highway called "Right Photo." When I needed to buy my Canon PowerShot SX20IS , which is an awesome camera by the way with HD video with zoom function, I bought it from there. I noticed recently they placed a large free standing sign on the lawn out front that now just simply says "Camera Store". The previous branded signage was on the top of the three story building that was hard to see driving directly in front of the store. This was very smart because the company name is not widely known but the simple lawn signage is eye level to most drivers.

Remember it doesn't matter what your name is if you are not putting $$$ into making your branding known. Focus on getting customers in who have a need. I needed a camera - I could have bought it online but I wanted to go to a place with sales clerks with knowledge of the cameras.

If you own a non-franchise business signs like "PIZZA", "ITALIAN RESTAURANT", "TRAVEL AGENCY", "LOCKSMITH" can go a long way to drive new customers who don't care about your business name but only need the service you provide.

Small Business Owners: Don't Get Hosed By a Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 02:59:00 +0000

If you need to hire a professional photographer for an event, portraits or commerical photography you need to be clear about what you want back from the photographer.

A client hired a photographer to take photos of her work. She pays the guy his day rate (full or half) to take photos. That fee structure is typical. The guy delivers all the photos website quality 72 dpi on a disk. I let the client know that she would need high resolution images if she wanted to do any printed material. She was unaware that her photos could only be used on a screen.

She put me on the phone today with the photographer and when I asked if he would deliver a disk with all the high resolution photos he explained that he provides a disk with all low resolution images for you to look at or use (again can only use the images for screen). He added that if my client would like high resolutions images she would select those photos and he will charge AN ADDITIONAL FEE.

OK she pays him his full rate - no matter what but his rate only includes low resolution images? Keep in mind at the time she engaged him several months ago - she had no website and had no plans for one. This is what I call getting seriously hosed because of misinformation.

The small business owner client didn't understand what she was getting until I told her. I also let her know that Ihave hired many photographers and they have delivered dvds with all high resolution photos upon my request.

I understand that photographers have to get paid, but there is no way that it should be EXTRA to get a high resolution photo - #1 the photographer SHOOTS high resolution- PERIOD. You can not shoot low resolution and make it high resolution. The pixels are not there to work with - it cannot be done. He is not doing anything to the image to make it high resolution. He may adjust color etc - but he is not making magic. Retouching is almost always extra, but sometimes unnecessary.

I advised my client to kick the photographer to the curb - PRONTO.

Before you hire a photographer:

Find out what you are paying for
Clarify you want high resolution images (you can always make them low resolution for the web)
Tell the photographer you would like a disk with all the high resolution images - no extra fee
If you don't need retouching and are happy the photos as is ...don't pay for retouching. Minor color balance and contrast adjustments should not/not be extra - PERIOD

If the photographer says that you have to pay for this and that ...move on. Find a photographer that is willing to work with you and not rake you over the coals in order to deliver the service you desire.

Check this Out:
The Art of Engagement: Bridging the Gap Between People and Possibilities - Free Book Summary

Google Ups Search Ante with Instant

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:43:00 +0000

I have two words to describe Google Instant.

Holy Sh$T!

I started a search while signed into Google tonight and before I could type the THIRD LETTER in the search box results started showing below.

WHOA.... Then I saw a friendly note telling me not to be alarmed introducing Google Instant. As described by the geniuses themselves, Instant..." is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type. We are pushing the limits of our technology and infrastructure to help you get better search results, faster. Our key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that you can scan a results page while you type."

If you haven't paid attention to where your website appears in google search results - get off your duff now and figure it out. (Have you heard about the search engine ranking loophole?)

Instant will be a hit for fast search results. My prediction? Sponsored links may suffer - Instant says search results save 2-5 seconds - I believe this will work against sponsored links. I think peeps will spend less time on the search page because results will appear faster. There are MILLIONS of other websites that Google ads appear so they won't be heading to the poor house any time soon. But I do believe there will be less clicks on sponsored ad ON Google search pages.

Care about your search engine optimization today or die tomorrow - PERIOD.

Check this out for starters:
Website Traffic is the single commodity that no one seems to have enough of, yet also one of the most written about ebooks on the planet.

Here's the bottom line...
If you want whatever the latest greatest ebook is about getting traffic, just let me know and I can go find it for you and you can waste your money on it.... BUT...

If you want to skip all of the crap and simply go directly to the source and flood your site with as much traffic as you can stand, then simply read this click here.

Website Advertising: Monetizing Your Website for Serious Returns

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:23:00 +0000

If you have a website or blog you should figure out a way to monetize it. I don't mean that you should start offering a product to sell but rather take advantage of really easy ways to do it.

Google adwords,Yahoo Search Marketing is a good place to start. Easy setup and its free to join. But if you want to go one step further with your advertising and actually provide relevant free content offers for white papers and ebooks I recommend signing up for RevResponse.

The beauty of RevResponse is that they pay you for giving away free content to your site audience. Howevrer, your audience has to qualify in order to receive the offers. This is why it’s important that you know your audience and promote magazines and downloads that are relevant to them. Run ads for compelling FREE business content to your audience. The RevResponse is very easy to use. You have access to an Ad Wizard tht allows you to create contextual, banner, and flash widget offers ready to cut and paste in to your websites.

The best part about RevResponse is that you can promote your own co-branded RevResponse FREE Business Content Resource Center. No other ad network allows you to make money from a complete inventory of advertiser's content. Take a look at this live example: http://pradviser-net.tradepub.com/

I also recommend the following products about making money online:

Honest Riches-Make Money Online the Honest Way

Travel Blog Success e-course - learn how to build, optimize, and monetize a travel blog. Includes 12 lessons, Blog, and Forum!

TweetCash

The Secret To Making Money Online

Event Planners: Use a business directory to increase your business

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 14:35:00 +0000

If you own a business, you have to market it online to make sure that you reach out to existing as well as prospective customers to ensure access to information about your services. As a business owner in you can always use a business directory service to advertise your services

A professional business directory service can help to increase your visibility, without making you put in much effort on your part. The bestr business directory services will divert a lot of traffic to your website. It aims at making a lot of people visit your company's website, on a regular basis. They also offer content such as videos and articles which attract both prospective as well as regular consumers to your website, seeking your services.

In today's world, the internet has emerged as an important part of everybody's life, it is necessary for you as a business owner to have as much online presence as possible. Having a website, placing your banner ads and writing keyword articles alone can not do anything, unless you list your business with a quality business directory service.

If you want to maximize your chances to increase your business further, it is best for you to take advantage of every open marketing avenue. So, when you come across a good business directory for your industry, it is really important that you make the most of this opportunity.

A local event planner business directory service will ask you for your company's name and address along with a permanent telephone number. It will also offer you an option to list an 800 number; however it helps to have a permanent telephone number listed in a business directory. You will also be asked to provide a brief description about your services, which you offer along with your web address. Have a link to yoru website on a relevant directory for your industry could help your sarch engine listings.

In short, listing your business in a good local event planner business directory will definitely increase your business.

Recommended Reading:
How To Drive Traffic To Your Website With Facebook - Growing Your Online Business With Facebook, and Much More - The Facebook Experts Handbook

How to Increase Return Traffic to Your Website
Web Traffic Magnet: 55 Free Things You Can Do To Drive Traffic To Your Website (Volume 1)

You Must Instill Confidence and Trust in Online Customers

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:27:00 +0000

If you have a website for your small business it serves as your 24/7 ambassador for your business. Just like you need to have a nice, respectable office or storefront for bricks and mortar businesses, the same thing applies for your online presence.

Website security and customer trust/satisfaction should be your number one priority for any online retailing business. An informative white paper titled, "Creating Consumer Confidence: The Secret Ingredient of Internet Success" shares 10 techniques to establish trust and credibility on your web site. Online retailers must make consumers feel more comfortable on their web sites, instilling confidence in order to support sharing personal and financial information and ultimately completing purchases.

I also recommend the complimentary ebook title, "Seven Reasons Customers Do Business, Online and Offline." Read this ebook on your Kindle or iPad from Verisign, a trusted provider of internet

retailing sercurity and identiy authentification technology. Learn how you can create a trustworthy website for your customers. This Essential Series eBook examines:

Seven reasons customers do business online and offline
How to use that customer's decision-making to build a trustworthy website
How to make a good web site great by adding professionalism and reputation-enhancing visual cues.

Click here for the FREE ebook. Click here for the Free White Paper.

Your Yola.com Website Might Be Down

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:17:00 +0000

Small businesses using Yola and a domain with a separate registrar (like Godaddy) must change A Records ASAP.

Yola suffered a DOS attack on Tuesday 8/17/20 in the evening. All Yola sites now have a different IP address.

If you do not make this change manual A Record change in via registrar account your website will be down, Read this message posted on the Yola forum:

Because of the Denial of Service attack we have experienced it was necessary to block our old IP address completely and migrate to a new one. This means that you will need to go into your account settings with your registrar and remove the old ip address of 208.75.208.172 and re-point the A Records to 184.72.229.176.

For detailed instructions for a few specific domain registrars please click on this link: Domain Configuration with GoDaddy, Register.com & other domain registrars: http://www.yola.com/customer-support/t/publishing-domains/8/70

Good luck!

I just fixed my A Records for these Yola hosted sites:
http://glutenfreedays.com/ (using premium template in Silver Package)
http://emailmarketingfreeoffers.com/ (free template)

http://enewsletterfreeoffers.com/ (free template)

http://retailsecret.com/ (free template)

You're Missing New Business Leads Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (Shakira Brown - Gift Guide Editor) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:22:00 +0000

Many small businesses are trying to figure out how to make more money in a down economy. Marketing and PR is an option but there needs to be a greater mix. Sure you need a website to promote your business but are you getting any leads from it?

Internet marketing is very popular. There are probably more websites with advertising on them then not. This means you can spread your message across many websites by advertising using an ad network such as Yahoo Search Marketing. Online marketing is here to stay and if you are not promoting your own business online you are missing a major opportunity.

Websites dominate all media in the 21st century as the most effective way to reach new leads and attract new customers and sales. Coordinating multiple facets of online advertising to maximize Return on Advertising (ROA) is called Multilateral Online Marketing (MOM), a new industry term coined by Fathom SEO that more accurately expresses what it takes to succeed online – coordinating multiple programs that can efficiently reach the right target audience when diverse disciplines work well together. Fathom SEO has published a free guide that explains 3 core steps to a successful online marketing initiative:

Get traffic
Convert visitors
Measure revenue drivers

Check out and register for a FREE guide and maximize your company's Return on Advertising Online!

Recommending Reading:

Download Free White Paper - Creating Consumer Confidence: The Secret Ingredient of Internet Success
Learn 10 techniques to establish trust and credibility on your web site.

The Playbook for Small Businesses

How to Say It: Marketing with New Media: A Guide to Promoting Your Small Business Using Websites, E-zines, Blogs, and Podcasts (How to Say It...)

Yahoo! Answers Traffic Guide - Learn How To Instantly Use The Popularity Of The Yahoo! Answers Community To Immediately Flood Your Website With As Much Traffic!

Traffic For Newbies - Start to Get Hoards and Hoards of Highly Targeted Traffic Flowing Into Your Website with This Simple Guide to Traffic from the Ground Up!