Recently the top 9 startups were announced in the Innovation District’s Welcome Home Challenge. The Welcome Home Challenge is an incredible opportunity for one lucky startup to win a $25,000 cash grant or a $50,000 investment from Vencorps.  Voting ends February 28th – cast your vote today!

Here are the Top 9 Teams

• TapWalk
• Stereonic International
• Rentabilities
• RelayTechnology Management
• My Life LLC
• Media Armor
• IdeaConnection.com
• Grinnit
• Buzzient

To read more about the Welcome Home Challenge, visit http://bostinnovation.com/2010/12/09/want-25000-and-free-office-space-in-the-innovation-district/

How to Vote – Step by Step Instructions

1.  Create a username

Go to http://www.vencorps.com/User/Register

Create a username, agree to the terms of service.

2. Click on “Pick Winners” at the Top of the Site

Or, go directly to the Rentabilities profile at http://boston.vencorps.com/Page/ViewIdea?ideaid=232

3.  Invest Points!

Each new user on the site gets 30 points.

On the right side, where it says “Investment Stats”, enter in 30, then hit “Update“.

Once you hit update, you’re done!  If you want, you can get more points if you want by commenting and leaving a review.  You can get your total points by going to “my account” in the top right.  We’ll take any points you want to give us

How to Invest Points – Registered Users

1. Login at Vencorps

Go to http://www.vencorps.com/Page/MyProfile

2.  How Many Points?

On your profile there is a box on the right.  Write down how many points you have, as seen next to “Net Worth“, as seen below:

3.  Go to the Rentabilities Profile

Go to our profile: http://boston.vencorps.com/Page/ViewIdea?ideaid=232

4.  Invest Points!

In the box on the right enter some or all of your points (whatever you think we’re worthy of!) and hit Update.

That’s it!  We truly appreciate your enthusiasm!

Finding great images to use on your web site or in your print advertising can be a pain.  You could use Google Image search, but most of the images found on Google are copyright protected.

For the past year I’ve been using Flickr to find great images.  Here’s how to do it.

1.  Go to flickr and search for something.

Never heard of flickr?  It’s an image uploading and sharing site.

On the results, click on “Advanced Search” next to the blue search button.

2.  Scroll Down and Check off “Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content”

Also check off “Find content to use commercially”, and hit search.

3.  Voila!  You’ve Got Images.

You’ll get a list of photos that you can use commercially.  Be sure to view the details for each image and credit the author appropriately.

There are many simple and important things you can should do to work “on” your business.  Many of them take just a few minutes.  Here are 5 simple things you can do to improve your marketing strategies and successes:

1.) Sign up for Google Analytics

You need to know what’s going on with your website.  Google Analytics will allow you to find out how many visitors come to your website and establish a baseline.  It is the first step in improving your website.

Useful Exercise:

Compare the number of visitors your website gets to the number of phone calls and bookings you get in a month.  This can be helpful in gauging the effectiveness of your site.

You need to know how your website is doing.  You paid for it, and it’s an important part of your company.

2.) Sign up for a Twitter account and begin using it

There are active conversations on Twitter among millions of people about many topics.  Being active on Twitter allows you to take part in the conversation around the rental industry.  In short time, you can meet new people, share experiences, engage with customers, and learn interesting tips.

This post from Andy will help you make your Twitter profile look sharp.

(We’ll be writing about Twitter in more detail soon, but please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.  We’ll be happy to help.)

3.) Make sure your business is listed on Yelp

In the  “How to Activate Your Rental Store’s Yelp Profile” post, I explain the importance of Yelp and share a 7-step tutorial on getting set up.  It’ll take you 20 minutes and it’ll be worth it.

4.) Check your Google Maps profile

Make sure that your phone number, address, website, logo, and company description are accurate and interesting.  If you have any negative reviews, respond to them and show your customers that you care.

If you’ve already set up a Google Maps profile and it’s broken, this is how you fix it.

5.) Write ‘thank you’ notes

Sounds basic because it is.  Writing thank you notes is an extremely simple and surprisingly powerful way to connect with your customers and contacts.  By spending a few minutes every week writing hand written notes, you lock in good will and strengthen relationships.

Alex shares his perspective and some great insights about writing ‘thank you’ notes here.

If you have any questions about any of these tips, please let us know.  Did you find these useful?  Are they more complicated than we suggested?  Want more information?  Comments welcomed below!

What is an Email List?

Email lists have been around for a long time. At its core, and email list is a database of people who have given you permission to email them about whatever it is that you do, which in this case is renting.

Why Should You Have and Email List?

A large email list allows you to communicate with your customers directly in a non-intrusive an effective way and is an invaluable asset to your business. Have a new product you want to promote to your customers? You can email them about it. Want to send out coupons without actually having to pay to get them printed? You can email that too!

The Do’s of Email Marketing

- Get permission before subscribing a customer to your email list. You can have them fill out a form or check off a subscribe box
- Send valuable content to your customers and provide value with every email you send
- Focus on building a long term, valuable email list
- Let people opt out of your email list with an easy unsubscribe link

The Dont’s of Email Marketing

- Don’t abuse the trust people have given you by spamming them and selling too much
- Don’t subscribe customers without their permission
- Don’t focus on building new subscribers at the cost of losing existing ones

How to Grow Your Email List

Make it Easy to Share

Include “forward this email” links or sharing buttons (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) at the bottom of every email you send.

Utilize your Email Footers

Have a link at the bottom of every email you are already sending linking to your subscription form. Make it enticing by saying something like, “want coupons to my store? join our mailing list”

Get Permission on the Phone and on the Web

After a customer has ordered from you over the phone, ask them if they want to be subscribed to your email marketing list so they can get coupons and offers from your store. Tell them you won’t spam them, and get their email over the phone to manually subscribe them.

If you offer online ordering, a rental request form or even a contact form, then have a checkbox prompting users to subscribe to your email list.

Collect Permission on Forms

Why stop at getting permission by only asking and on the web? You can easily have customers fill out their email on hard copies of rental contracts and invoices, and have them check off a box to subscribe just as they would online.

Send Personalized Emails

If you have customers’ email address who have rented from you before your started your marketing list, send them a personalized email explaining your new initiative and why they might find it valuable. Remember to explain who you are and make it personal.

Email Marketing Services

There are hundreds of email marketing services that allow you to easily create good looking, HTML emails with pictures and readable formating. If you are curious which are the best, click here

Respect the Law

It’s illegal to spam people. Never add an email address to your list without getting permission first. By ignoring this, you risk violating the U.S. CAN-SPAM law regulating commercial email and also your customers’ trust.

Today I’ve decided to give up one of my best kept secrets: thank you notes.

The world is moving incredibly fast: everything is instant gratification, low-touch, digital.  It’s so easy to forget to say a simple “thank you”, and it’s so easy to forget to send a thank you note.  Think about it – when was the last time you sent a real, hand-written thank you note?  Are you relying on email to say thanks?

The number one tip I can give to any startup – or any existing business – is to really say thanks every once and a while.

How it Works

Saying thank you is easy.  After someone takes time out of their day to meet with you, just open a note card, get a pen, and take a few moments out of your day to say thanks. Write the note, address it, slap and stamp on it, and send it.  It’s that easy.

How Much it Costs

Saying thanks is cheap.  You can get greeting cards for less than 20 cents each.  You can mail a card for 44 cents.  So, you’re looking at about 5 minutes of your time and a whopping 64 cents to wow a customer or someone who helped you.

What Happens when you Say Thanks

When you say thanks, people notice.  They took time to meet with you, to give you feedback, or to help you in some way, and when you say thanks you’re showing that person you care. Saying thanks makes everyone feel good. Saying thanks opens doors and keeps the line open.

Here’s a Visual

Here’s the card we use here at Rentabilities.  It’s simple – just our logo with a blank inside. By getting blank notes inside and keeping it simple, you can use these for multiple purposes.

Start Saying Thanks to Today

We use and love a company called OverNightPrints.com, but feel free to use whoever you want.

1. Download the appropriate starter file, edit, and add your logo.
2. Go to http://www.overnightprints.com/greetingcards, update your logo, and submit your order.
3. Start saying thanks!

-Happy Thanksgiving from Rentabilities

As the owner of a rental company, there are many simple things you can do to monitor your ‘brand’ and engage with your customers online.  Other than referrals, most new customers will find you online before they ever speak with you.

Many customers use Yelp to find the best businesses in their area, so activating your profile can help you get found and can help direct potential customers to your website. With Yelp’s rating system, your happy past customers will give you good reviews and high star-ratings.

Follow these 7 simple steps to set up your Yelp profile.  I’ll take you through the steps as I add Rentabilities to Yelp.

1.)  Watch this Quick Video About the Value of Yelp

2.) Enter Your Business Name and Location

Go to to Yelp’s sign up page, and enter your business’s name and location.  It will look like this:

3.) Add Your Business to Yelp (unless it’s already there..?!)

Hit the “search” button and look for your business.  If your business is already in Yelp, you’ll be able to find it in the list and click the “unlock” button.  If your business isn’t in Yelp, got to the bottom of the page and click “Add you business to Yelp”.

4.) Fill out the “Add Your Business” Form

After you hit the “Add you business to Yelp” button, you’ll be directed to a form page.  Fill it out, using your business’s physical address, entire URL (e.g. “www.rentabilities.com”), and working email address.  It will look like this:

5.) Click the “Add” Button on the Bottom of the Page

If everything was filled out correctly, you’ll see this page:

6.) Verify Your Account and View Your Page!

Check your email for a message from Yelp.  Click on the link provided in the email.  This will verify that you are the owner of your biz and will automatically direct you to your business’s Yelp page.

7.) Make your Yelp Page Look Great!

Fill out your business’s profile page, including a picture of your logo or storefront, and write a summary of your offerings.  Take care to write this well.  It may be the first thing a potential customer knows about you.

Now that you’re set up, it’s important to check your Yelp page regularly.  Positive or negative, reviews will give you a great sense of how your customers like you and will give you clues about what you need to improve.

If you have any problems adding your rental company to Yelp, please let us know.  We’d be happy to assist.  See you on Yelp!

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98% of the people who visit your site leave, never to return.

The less work your customers have to do to find the product they want to rent, the more likely they are to rent from you. We’ve spent countless hours researching the most optimal flow for your website to increase your sales. The changes are easy to make and will help increase your rental conversions and sales.

Perfect Party Rental Old Website Design

Below we’ve outlined the steps a customer would take when visiting Perfect Party Rental’s website to find and book a rental.

1. Customer lands on homepage and has to decide where to go next

2. Customer has to figure out to go to price lists

3. Customer is inundated with information and has to read an entire list of items

4. Customer has to guess what product may be the he wants want to rent

5. Customer goes to the gallery, and has to guess which picture corresponds with the desired item

6. Customer has to call the store for availability. Chances are he never made it to this point

Perfect Party Rental New Website Design

We helped Perfect Party Rental redesign their website based on a better flow and presentation of information.

1. Customer comes to homepage and is prompted to go to “Reserve a Rental Today” (call to action button)

2. Customer  chooses the category he wants

3. Customer visually sees pictures of products and pricing in one place, and clicks  on desired product for more information

4. Customer views more information and checks pricing and availability

5. Customer orders online

Think About Your Website Like a Newspaper

If an article in a newspaper had an important picture, but you had to flip to an apendix and match up which picture went with the article you were reading…do you think you’d actually take the time to find the picture? Or would you get frustrated and move onto another article or throw out the newspaper all together?

This is what goes through the minds of your customers when your website is poorly designed. You want information to flow as easily as possible to convert more visitors into orders. Here’s how:

• Let customers choose a category to browse through. Do not just give them a list. It’s overwhelming
• List out all your products in that category with thumbnails and corresponding pricing. This will let your customers quickly view your products to see if you have what they want
• Once your customer chooses a product, give them as much information as possible to make a smart decision about renting from you. The more information you provide, the less questions and excuses and the easier it is for a customer to make a “yes” decision to rent
• If possible, allow your customers to order online. At the very least, allow them to request a reservation through an email form. They have made it all the way through your website, found the product they want, and now the last thing you want to do is force them to pick up the phone.

Have you found other methods for increasing sales through your website? Do you us to look at your current website and give you some feedback? Leave your questions and comments below

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What is Google Instant Preview?

Google recently launched Instant Previews in their search engine results pages. Now Google users can hover over your site’s search result and see a preview of your homepage. This is a quick and easy way for people to check whether or now they want to visit your rental store website. We’ve outlined a few tips for how to make sure your store is showcased well in your Instant Preview

5 Tips for a Better Google Instant Preview

#1 – Do Not Use Flash on your Homepage

Flash can be an effective tool for your website when used correctly. Flash does not show up in the Google Instant Preview however, so it should not be used at all on your homepage. You should definitely not have a Flash entry page, as it is generally disliked by your users.

#2 – Check Your Meta Description

Meta descriptions are generally not used to calculate search engine rank anymore. They are important from a user experience perspective though. Google will put meta description keywords in bold, which your users’ eyes will gravitate towards automatically.

You want to set your meta descriptions in your site’s code to make sure your desired keywords are in the description. If you do not have a meta description set for your homepage, Google will pull the first 150 characters from your website.

#3 – Use Big Headers and Big Logos

Do you think your customers can read really small text? Chances are probably not, so you want to make sure your heading sizes are large enough to display your most important information well in Google Instant Preview. You also want to make sure that your logo shows up nicely and cleanly in the preview.

#4 – Add Alt Text to your Images

Alt tags are very important for search engine optimization. They are what Google and other search engines “see” when you have an image on your page. Make sure you have your alt tags set so Google includes relevant images with keywords searches, which will then show up in Instant Preview.

#5 Pretty Looking Websites Matter Again

Content is still king, but aesthetics matter too. You want your homepage to be crisp, clean and simple because people may not visit a site with a poor looking preview. If you haven’t done so already, check out how your website looks in the Google Search Results

How does your website look in Google Instant Preview? Do you have more questions? Ask us anything below

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What is a Facebook Page Custom Username?

Facebook allows you to claim a customer username for your rental store’s Facebook page. When you claim your username for your page, you will get a custom URL for your store, such as www.facebook.com/yourrentalstore

Tips about Facebook Usernames

• You must have a personal Facebook account and a page for your rental store created under that account to claim your username
• Customers who go to your store’s Facebook URL will not be able to see all your personal information on your profile. They still have to be Facebook friends with you to see your private profile

Why You Should Claim your Company’s Username

Facebook usernames are free to claim and a great resource for your store. Here are a few important reasons why you should claim your Facebook username:

• Get better search engine optimization of your Facebook page
• A shorter Facebook URL means less text to put on your trucks and signs
• Make it easier for your customers to remember your Facebook URL and for you to share it with them

How to Claim your Username in 5 Steps

Step 1 – Go www.facebook.com/username
Step 2 – Choose your store’s Facebook page from the drop down menu. You need at least 25 likes of your page in order to claim your username.

Step 3 – Type your desired username into the box provided
Step 4 – Press the Check Availability button
Step 5 – Confirm your Username

Important Best Practices when Choosing your Facebook Username

• Double check your username – Facebook does not you change it. If you mispell your username, you’re stuck with it.
• Describe your store accurately – Choose Taylor Rental Boston instead of just Taylor Rental
• Usernames can only contain letters, numbers, or a period. Do not put any other punctuation in your username
• Claim your username as soon as possible! If someone else claims your desired username for your store’s Facebook page, you will not be able to ever obtain it

Want to Add a Facebook logo that links to your website?

Great idea! If you need help adding a Facebook link into your website, please feel free to contact us and will do it for free. Use our contact form

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I’m working on a free software tool right now involving deliveries called DeliveryMapper (http://www.deliverymapper.com), and I had an interesting tip I thought I’d share.  This might seem like an out-dated idea, but for anyone who doesn’t have GPS or has a broken GPS unit, did you know you can text google for directions?

How to Text Google for Free Directions

1. The number to text is GOOGLE, or 466453.
2. In the body of the text message, simply enter the word directions including the request - for example:
“Directions 8 northern avenue boston, ma to 1 main street boston, ma”

Here’s an example:

After that you’ll get back results in a step-by-step form!

How much does it cost?

You can do it on any phone and it uses standard text message rates.  Meaning, if the driver already has a texting plan it’s included.  So it’s essentially free.