I am a professional speaker; I travel a lot to conferences and enjoy speaking at events. One of the things that makes it enjoyable is being appreciated by the organizers of the events. Quite often, the speakers are forgotten. The organizers are focused on the attendees and the sponsors, after all that is where the money is coming from. But without the content, there would be no event.

Organizers of some conferences I have attended go out of their way to make you feel special. Not because you are a diva or act special, but simply because they want you to know that they appreciate you showing up and doing your best for their event.

I have received business gifts, food, and other signs of appreciation. All of these are great and I definitely love getting them, but the most effective, most treasured of all my speaker appreciation gifts is a hand written thank you note.

Sure the silver cufflinks I received are awesome, and I wear them regularly; the other gifts are great, too, I am certainly not complaining. But a hand written note to show the appreciation of the organizers is something that isn’t bought. It takes time and shows effort.

For small businesses, showing appreciation to customers, to valued vendors and members of staff can be tricky. Too big a gift and you can look showy; too small a gift and you can look lame. How do you show your appreciation without going over the top or falling short?

That is where the hand written note comes in. Identify why you are showing your appreciation, highlight what it is about the relationship that you value, make the message personal, and really show how much you value the recipient.

Much more than free food or a t-shirt, a hand written note to a valued customer or a reliable vendor or staff member will be treasured long after it is given. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t give other things, but a hand written note will go a long way in strengthening your relationships with your business partners.

On the wall in my office is a pinboard, and that is where I pin the notes I receive. Every day, I get to look at those notes and realize that I am appreciated for what I do — that is a heck of a good feeling.

What simple signs of appreciation do you use?

You're reading: The Art of Simple Appreciation, which was originally posted on the Small Business Bonfire. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may also want to join our free small business social network!

When I started my first business years ago, I felt like I was constantly stumbling around in the dark, in an unfamiliar and scary house. I kept stubbing my toes on doorjambs, whacking my shins into furniture, banging my arms into walls and hitting my head on lighting fixtures. I didn’t know the lay of the land, and in my frantic attempts to gain footing, I was getting bruised and bloodied…and it was eating away at my confidence.

It wasn’t long before I was spent — emotionally, financially and physically. Looking back almost 15 years later, I know what I was missing in those early days of darkness and confusion: a blueprint of the house to use as a map to get from one room to the other, to plan a renovation, and to show me what the foundation really looked like.

That is how the Small Business Kickstart Kit begins. I know so many entrepreneurs who are almost desperate to get their businesses off the ground, yet continue to get hung up on the details. I understand those challenges intimately (because I’ve been there), and I also know what it takes to get past the stopping point, start to make progress, boost your confidence and build momentum. With just a little time and effort. Really.

And that’s why I created the Kickstart Kit. I just released it a couple of weeks ago, and I am thrilled to share it with you.

The Small Business Kickstart Kit

The Small Business Kickstart Kit walks you through (and simplifies) what you need to do to create a blueprint for your new business. In the kit, we focus on the most important steps of starting a business, so we can get in, get the planning done, and get on with the business by focusing on targeted action steps.

There are four primary areas we focus on in the Kit, the most common places where entrepreneurs get hung up and frustrated:

• Goal Setting
• Business Planning
• Marketing Planning
• Budgeting

I know you don’t have a lot of time, so the actions you take need to mean something. The Kickstart Kit is all about taking mangeable but insanely meaningful steps. There’s no fluff; just specific advice and useable worksheets.

It’s a streamlined business start-up kit that gives you the tools you need to get moving, now. Not in six months or a year. Now. This Kit will help you break out of the darkness and confusion and use the time you have to do what you need to do to get your business launched.

Does it sound like something you need?

Then, jump on over to the Small Business Kickstart Kit page to find out more and order your copy today. If you want to make progress today — right now — then you need a Kickstart.

You're reading: Make Progress in Your Business Today with the Kickstart Kit, which was originally posted on the Small Business Bonfire. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may also want to join our free small business social network!

Facebook does it.

Twitter does it.

Google Plus and LinkedIn do it, too.

What do they do? They have badges that their members can easily embed on their own sites to help increase their following on the various social networks.

Badges are relatively easy to create as long as you know some basic HTML. There are several benefits to creating a badge and having others post it on their sites, including:

• Increased brand recognition
• External backlinks to your site
• Exposure to a wide ranging audience
• Increased traffic to your site

There are many reasons you can use to create a badge and ask others to place it on their sites.

At the Bonfire, we have badges that our members can create and embed on their sites to increase their following on the community. The badges also help us increase our brand recognition and referral traffic.

Here’s an example of our badge:

Bonfire contributor Emily Suess created a badge to help promote her writing contest and asked her readers to place it on their sites.

So, as you can see, there are many different reasons to create an embeddable badge. How have you used badges? Have they helped with increasing your following or driving more traffic to your site?

Image credit: nem_youth

You're reading: Street Walking: Help Them Promote You, which was originally posted on the Small Business Bonfire. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may also want to join our free small business social network!

Last week, I shared tips for better email newsletter marketing. Today, we’re talking about simply writing effective emails. After all, sending an email that gets to the point and gets results isn’t always as easy as you might think.

Sometimes our messages get buried in a sea of unread mail. Sometimes they’re opened only to be forgotten as soon as the text changes from bold to normal typeface. And sometimes our confusing messages simply leave recipients scratching their heads.

These 12 tips can help you use email as a powerful small business tool — whether you’re getting in touch with an employee, a client, or a vendor.

1. Use CC: and BCC: Wisely

Inboxes are already overflowing these days. Copying and blind carbon copying excessively isn’t just annoying; it’s confusing. If the information wasn’t specifically requested, think twice about sending any email that leads off with the phrase “just FYI.”

2. Be Concise

People say this all the time, but I’m going to give you a goal to strive for: try keeping your emails between 50 and 100 words for the rest of the week. It might be difficult, but I promise your recipients will thank you.

3. Include a Call to Action

Sounds a bit like I’m talking about a sales letter, but I’m not. Unless your email is a reply, it should have a call to action or a direct question. Be clear about why you’re writing and what you need, and put that information at the beginning of your email.

4. Cut Quoted Text

Strings of irrelevant conversations from the past aren’t helping your cause. Delete unnecessary quoted text and e-mail signatures, or start a new message thread.

5. Mention the Attachment

Adding an attachment for clarification or one that requires action? Mention it specifically in the body text.

6. Write Concisely

What’s that? You think this looks a lot like #2 on the list? I’m sure there’s a reason for that.

7. Don’t Assume Anything

Part of writing with clarity is including all of the necessary information. Use reference numbers, invoice numbers, check numbers, and other identifiers to make life easier for anyone who receives your email.

8. Use Hyperlinks

Referring to a specific URL or website? Take five seconds to include a hyperlink (and then check to make sure it works).

9. Be Considerate When Formatting

I probably don’t need to remind you not to send an email written in all caps, but do be sure to use headings and bullets or numbered lists — especially when your call to action includes 3 or more steps.

10. Make Sure You’re Emailing the Right People

Update your contact lists immediately when you are notified that your point of contact for a project or vendor has changed.

11. Keep It Professional

E-mail forwards are so 1995. Sending unimportant messages is a sure way to get others to ignore your important messages.

12. Pick Up the Phone Instead

Sometimes email just isn’t the best method of communication for the task at hand. If you have attached so many files you can’t send your email, consider a better option. If your message is 10,000 words long, maybe you should make a phone call or schedule a face-to-face meeting.

How do you write more effective business emails?

You're reading: 12 Tips for Writing More Effective Business Emails, which was originally posted on the Small Business Bonfire. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may also want to join our free small business social network!

Ahhh, Pinterest.  Like many, I am feeling slightly overwhelmed by the push to commit to yet another social network. But I also see the potential here, so I am (slowly) taking the plunge.

I have started by doing some research and exploring some of the ways small businesses can use Pinterest (you can see my Pinterest account here, and one of my favorite boards I’ve been working on: Free Small Business Resources).

While I am working on preparing some tips and examples to share on this blog, I thought it would be helpful to share some of the articles that I’ve been reading on businesses using Pinterest:

• Pinterest for Business: A Primer for Marketers & Entrepreneurs, SimplifyThis
• How Pinterest Can Benefit Your Small Business, OPEN Forum
• How Pinterest Is Becoming the Next Big Thing in Social Media for Business, Entrepreneur
• 56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest, Copyblogger
• 10 Tips to Get the Most Out of Pinterest for Your Business, The Next Web
• 9 Tips: Boost Your Business With Pinterest, Inc.com
• Pinterest Marketing Tips for SEO, Traffic, and Online Reputation Management, KISSmetrics
• If You Pin It, They Will Come. Crazy Happenings at Pinterest, Sabrina&Company
• How to Use Pinterest in Your Small Business, OPEN Forum
• Top Tips for Brands on Pinterest, Simply Zesty
• Use Pinterest for Your Small Biz, Websites for Small Biz
• Pinterest Isn’t for Every Small Business, Boston.com
• 150 Brands on Pinterest, Type-A Parent
• Pinterest Frenzy. Will Marketers Kill It?, Right Mix Marketing
• 3 Ways to Use Pinterest for Marketing Research, Social Media Explorer
• Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips, OPEN Forum

As you can see, there is so much to learn! If you have read a helpful article on using Pinterest for business, please share the link in the comments.

You're reading: Bonfire Buzz: Pinterest for Business, which was originally posted on the Small Business Bonfire. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may also want to join our free small business social network!

If you are marketing your business or yourself online, you most certainly have been hit by information overload. From daily email management, to blogs and comments, to managing your social media profiles, there is a just a lot of information to manage in order to make sure your reputation and your brand’s reputation remain positive.

There are many different tools you can use to streamline the tracking of your online reputation. Here are four I use every day that help me stay on top of it all.

Google Alerts

You are probably already familiar with Google Alerts for tracking your name and your business name. I also use it to track all mentions of my domain names, my email addresses, and keywords that apply to my niche. It’s also a great way to keep an eye on your competition.

I have most of my alerts set to send me a notification as-it-happens to keep me in the loop and give me a chance to respond quickly, when necessary.

Hootsuite

I use Hootsuite to schedule the bulk of my posting on Twitter and Facebook, but it’s also a great app for tracking your reputation. I have streams set up to track lists and specific keywords so I can see at-a-glance the activity that involves my name and brand.

Nutshellmail

Is anyone else irritated by how difficult it is to see who is retweeting your content on Twitter? Unless they use the old-school retweet format (really a mention, not an actual RT), you may never know who took time to share your links. This is one of the reasons I love Nutshellmail.

Not only does Nutshellmail keep me in the loop with all of my daily social media activity, but I can see who retweets me, and again using my domain names as keywords, I can see who is sharing my content, even if they don’t mention my Twitter names in their posts.

Reputation.com

For serious online reputation management, I use the big guns — Reputation.com. They take care of a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to tracking my online reputation and ensuring that the information out there is accurate and positive. It’s also a great tool for managing your online privacy and security.

The best part? It’s “do it, and forget it” which is perfect for those of us struggling to stay on top of very busy schedules.

What tools do you use to manage your online reputation?

You're reading: Four Tools I Use Every Day to Manage My Online Reputation, which was originally posted on the Small Business Bonfire. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may also want to join our free small business social network!

Last night on the train, someone had left behind the latest issue of The Met Golfer, so I grabbed it to look through for the remainder of my trip. When I flip through magazines that I normally don’t read, I always pay close attention to who their advertisers are and how their ads are formatted.

Within this particular issue, the majority of advertisers were advertising a product or service related to golf. The ads ranged from new golf equipment to a realtor marketing herself as the expert in country club living. However, a couple of ads had absolutely nothing to do with golf and those were the ones I took notice of.

Why? Because these advertisers have found that the readers of The Met Golfer are the same customer base that they have found buy their products and services. There was an ad for a particular model of Rolex watch, one for retirement planning and another for insurance.

None of the three advertisers mentioned the word golf once in their ads despite being in a golf magazine. They know the demographics of the typical subscriber, and they tailor their marketing towards those demographics rather than their hobby of playing golf. And the other reason why they advertise here? None of their competitors are. Unlike all of the golf-related advertisers competing against each other, these three advertisers had virtually no related competition.

Niche magazines that have advertisers from outside their niche are worth picking up for a couple of issues to study and learn from. And, as a result, you may find a new profitable medium to advertise your business or a client’s business.

Image credit: angiea

You're reading: Street Walking: Look Beyond the Obvious, which was originally posted on the Small Business Bonfire. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may also want to join our free small business social network!

Email marketing is a necessity for most small businesses. For companies offering services or selling through an ecommerce website, the email newsletter (e-newsletter) is crucial for engaging customers, improving sales, and building brand loyalty.

An effective e-newsletter must be written carefully, however. Because when it’s done wrong, it can alienate and even annoy otherwise satisfied customers.

While I’m not usually a fan of ultimatums and absolutes, there are certain rules you must not break when venturing into the realm of e-newsletter distribution.

1. Never Spam Anyone

Don’t add an acquaintance to your mailing list because you think they’d like to receive your emails every month. Adding someone to a list without his permission results in spam — no matter how you slice it.

There are plenty of ways to urge people to sign up for your newsletter. Try promoting your newsletter on your website, blog, on your invoices and receipts, or at the sales counter if you run a brick-and-mortar store.

2. Write a Captivating Subject Line

While you’re not likely to offend anyone with the subject line “February Newsletter,” you’re not likely to get much attention either.

Instead, go for a subject that’s a little more intriguing, like “10 Things We Hate About Goat Milk Soap.” (That title will really grab some attention if you happen to be a retailer of goat milk soap, by the way.)

3. Instead of Asking for Money, Offer Something

Your e-newsletter should offer readers something — information, advice, tips, discounts — something that reminds them why they opted-in in the first place.

That’s not to say that your newsletter won’t help you sell your products and services. So leave off the hyperbolic “order now before it’s too late!” and maybe try offering a discount code or a tip of the month in your sidebar instead.

4.  Make Your Template Professional

Don’t use flashy animated graphics with dancing hamsters. Stick to your logo and business colors and make sure your content is easy to read. Black text on a white or very light background is your best bet for the main body of your e-newsletter.

If you work with a professional designer and you hear the words “I wouldn’t recommend…” come out of his mouth? Listen up!

5. Include a Call to Action

Your email should be short and sweet and contain a simple call to action. I know I told you not to ask for money, and I stand by that. Your call to action can sell your products without being slick or sales-y.

For instance, instead of a button at the end of your content that says “Buy Goats Milk Soap Now” you could try something like “Shop Our Seasonal Soaps” or “Save on Our Soap of the Month.” You get the idea.

Whether you sell services or products, e-newsletters are a great way to communicate with your customers and increase sales. If you’re thinking about starting an e-newsletter for the first time, I recommend saving some of the ones you subscribe to. Take notes and analyze what makes them effective.

Your turn: Do you send an e-newsletter?  Would you add any rules to this list?

You're reading: 5 Unbreakable Rules of Email Newsletter Marketing, which was originally posted on the Small Business Bonfire. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may also want to join our free small business social network!

Have you noticed how many blog posts, business books and other resources have started focusing on metrics lately?

Everything from unique web page visitors, to the ROI of a Facebook post can be (and should be) measured. At least that is what the received wisdom seems to tell us. So alongside actually running your business, trying to generate new business, servicing existing business needs, and using and understanding social media and new technology, you are also supposed to measure all of these things.

If you didn’t think you had enough time before, you are likely to be seeking out the nearest cloning machine because now you have to find time to work in collecting and evaluating extensive metrics. Where is the time supposed to come from for all of this? You’ll make time if it is important to you and it should be important to you — so the guru’s will say.

But is it really that important? Oh sure it’s nice to see some numbers — how many people visited your website in a given time period. Or how many people read your blog (if you have time to write one). Or how many new followers you have on Twitter.

These are all “interesting” numbers, but for the most part, they are irrelevant. For most small businesses, the number that matters the most is the one on the bank statement at the end of each month. That number is often left out of the advice being given or at least left until last.

Instead of making it last in the list, I propose that you make it first in the list. Start with the revenue number and then look at what contributes to that most in your business.

If you are an online retailer, for example, then web conversion rates are definitely something that you want to measure. But if you are a local coffee shop, how many of your customers are actually coming to your website to buy your coffee? None of them. So unique visits to your website is a number that you can glance at from time to time. But, ultimately, you want to focus on how many people come through the door.

As you work your way back through the contributing factors, the things that you need to measure and collect data on will become more apparent. The further you get from the revenue number, the less important those numbers become.

Perhaps using this model you will find time to measure what is important and let go of all the “likes,” “followers,” “views” and other “cool” metrics.

Image credit: vierdrie

You're reading: Measuring the Most Important Number for a Small Business, which was originally posted on the Small Business Bonfire. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may also want to join our free small business social network!

Ask any entrepreneur, and I’m sure he or she will tell you that starting, growing and managing a business is like a roller coaster ride. There can be very high highs, but it’s not uncommon to get sucker-punched on the way down. This is part of what makes business ownership exhilarating…but it can also make it a little bit painful.

This is why it’s in your best interest to flex and strengthen your entrepreneurial muscles. How do I bulk up, you might ask, so I’m strong and can prevent myself from getting hurt in the world of business ownership? Here are a few ways.

Remember: Business Is Business

First thing you should do? Stop taking things personally. I know, that is very hard to do when your business is your baby, a part of you, and it hurts like hell when a potential client or customer says no and walks right on by. But you need to figure out a way to separate your business from yourself, or every rejection that comes your way is going to eat away at your confidence and make it virtually impossible to keep moving forward.

You’re in business to DO business, not to pad your ego. Just like you go to the gym to work out, not attend a fashion show. So focus on what you’re doing, chalk up loses as a necessary part of business, and look for opportunities to do what you’re doing better.

Don’t Get Distracted

One of the quickest ways to hurt yourself in your business is by fluttering around to every shiny new thing that pops up. You don’t want to be the guy at the gym who sits there scoping out the girls for an hour instead of working on his flabby love handles. If you don’t have business goals, set some ASAP, and stick with them no matter what.

You need to focus on where you want to go and the plan you created for getting there. The rest of the nonsense happening outside your window only deserves your peripheral attention.

Release Some of the Fear

Being scared can often mean you’re on the path to something big. Who isn’t scared before they add more weight to their bench press? I always say that a moderate amount of fear is a very good thing is business (and fitness) because it makes you think before you act. It’s dangerous to be completely fearless — it leads to recklessness.

But holding onto the fear and never letting go is a bad thing, too. Fear can lead to complacency, and once you’ve fallen into that pond, your confidence goes out the window and you become fragile. There’s no place in business for fragility. You’ll be eaten alive. Use your fear to ensure due diligence and to push through the tough parts, but then let it go.

Work on Your Confidence

Speaking of confidence, you need it. You need to believe in yourself, your product or service, and your goals. You need to believe that you can accomplish all you set out to accomplish. You need to be able to promote the heck out of yourself. And if you don’t have the confidence you need, then fake it.

Think of the first time you went back to the gym after several weeks off, feeling very insecure and nervous about what was ahead. If you didn’t give yourself a mental pep talk and push yourself to do it anyway, even though you were uncomfortable, you wouldn’t have survived your first workout. Psyche yourself up for your business in exactly the same way.

Line Up a Group of Supporters

You need a spotter in your business, just like you do when you’re weight training. A partner, a colleague, a mentor, a coach — you need a person (or group of people) who can play devil’s advocate, hold you accountable, and tell you when you’re making excuses. You also need someone to pat you on the back and remind you to celebrate your successes.

Are you doing it all alone? You are definitely susceptible to getting hurt. Find a mentor or join a group (why not the Small Business Bonfire community?), and get involved. You may be surprised how powerful collaboration and new perspectives can be.

You're reading: 5 Ways to Bulk Up Your Entrepreneurial Muscles, which was originally posted on the Small Business Bonfire. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may also want to join our free small business social network!