Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Titus Hoskins
While email or online fax has become very popular with both small business owners and individuals, understanding just what exactly is an online fax provider is much more complicated. The whole process confuses some people, especially those who are not web savvy or are new to computers. So perhaps a full explanation would prove helpful.
First, before anything is explained, users or potential users must realize online faxing is as easy as sending an email - and just about anyone who has used a computer can do that. Basically, with Internet faxing all your faxes are sent as an email attachment, usually in a TIFF or PDF format, and are delivered directly to your inbox.
The second part of the equation is what confuses many people, in order to use this new type of web faxing, you have to sign up to an online fax service provider who acts as an intermediary to handle all your faxing. It is really a form of "cloud computing" where your services are outsourced to an outside company - in this case an online fax company.
Once you are signed up to a fax service provider you are given a local or Toll-free fax number which you can give out to all your contacts and place on all your business cards and dealings. And because it is web based, you don't need an extra fax phone like you do with a traditional fax machine. And because web faxing is paperless, you don't have the added expense of all those inks, toners and papers.
You are also given an online account or interface where you can logon to check and send your faxes. Your faxes are also stored online but each company usually differs in the amount of time your faxes are stored so this is one feature you should check before signing up with any given fax provider. Also be aware, each different fax service provider has different monthly rates and the numbers of faxes you can send/receive. You are charged extra for any faxes that go over that limit and some companies charge by the minute, while others charge by the fax.
On average, these monthly charges run around $10 but if you shop around there are good quality services which charge much less. Also remember, this is usually an ongoing business expense so it does pay to shop around and do your homework now since it can mean significant savings over the long term. Using an online fax comparison site is probably a good idea if you want to get the best deals.
The only other question that usually comes up when discussing these fax services: "Why should I use an online fax provider in the first place?"
For the same reasons which has made this type of faxing so popular: it's cheaper, easier to use, and much more convenient than the old traditional fax machine. It is totally portable and is available wherever you have Internet access. It turns all your mobile devices like cell phones, PDAs, laptops... into virtual fax machines. No more missed faxes because of busy signals or paper jams.
Furthermore, if your company depends heavily upon faxing to bring in new sales, contacting clients or communicating with employees, then you have to realize with online faxing your business is open 24/7, 365 days of the year. This is one service that definitely can make any company or business more competitive, even in this harsh economic climate.
Finally, perhaps one of the best features of these online fax providers, many have Free 30 Day Trials where you can check out their services and see if they're up to your standards before you buy. Setup is free and can be done in a matter of minutes so finding the right fax service provider to meet your needs should be quite painless.
About the Author:
For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online Comparison Guide to get your own: internet fax providers. Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: internet fax.
Copyright (c) 2010 Titus Hoskins. http://www.bizwaremagic.com This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
Read more of Titus Hoskins's articles.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Building Brand Identity - New Tools Demand New Methods
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Military students often learn of a certain mistake that a commander can make: fighting last year's war with this year's tools. The lesson is that it may not work to use the newest techniques and technologies as a way to do the same old thing more effectively, when the answer instead might be using new tools to foster an entirely new approach. The concept holds true in many fields, especially in the discipline of social media marketing.
The Internet and the Web are incredibly powerful tools, enabling high-speed communication and extraordinarily widespread access. Marketers of the late 80s would have killed for the ability to get their commercials in front of the billions of people who use the Web today. Both technologies have revolutionized the way people communicate, allowing letters to be sent to hundreds of recipients for pennies and no postage. The viral message has become one of the most talked about features of the modern age. So why do so many advertisers simply use the Web in the same fashion as television or radio advertisements?
People aren't always able to see the possibilities in a new technology, for one thing. Yes, this is the age of YouTube and the viral video, but for the majority of its existence the Web has been accessed through dialup rather than broadband. Apart from attachment-free emails and instant message texts, communication over the Internet wasn't necessarily any more efficient than television. Large video or even audio files were not something that could be downloaded quickly, so the Web was simply not prepared for advertisers to try out their entirely new visions.
Of course, now that broadband is widely available and increasing in speed all the time, this has all changed. Videos can be downloaded in minutes, and audio podcasts often take mere seconds to acquire. The technology has grown into much more of its potential capability, and the time has come to pioneer new methods for dealing with it. To do so, advertisers and marketers need to be aware of some basic facts.
Fact 1 - the Web is Ceaseless
Television has a schedule; one that hasn't varied greatly in the last few decades. There is daytime television, prime time television, and late night television. There are tidewaters for when certain materials can be shown. Advertising campaigns are built around these schedules, beginning and ending at certain times.
This does not, cannot, and will not ever work for the Web.
There is always someone on the Web. There are no tidewaters for when certain information will be more desirable, because every time one user logs off to get some sleep or go to work, twenty more may log on just three time zones west.
There cannot be an advertising 'campaign' in the traditional sense of the word under these circumstances. With people constantly logging in and out of the assorted social sites to check up on what's popular, or who's still friends with whom, a single commercial isn't going to particularly register. Modern marketing techniques need to look at ways to maintain a persistent, natural presence in the minds of their audience if they're to have any hope of keeping up.
Fact 2 - the Web is Interactive
This has been discussed in many, many places and in just as many ways. Post anything at all, and the Web will give feedback, informed or uninformed. All those people who are logging on have opinions that they might not necessarily have leeway to express at the office, and they're all too happy to share them online.
Discussions of the pros and cons of this phenomenon can be had just about anywhere, so instead consider the example of the online humor site, Cracked. Formerly a magazine in the style of MAD magazine, Cracked has always specialized in offbeat humor that looks at the ironies in life. It also never quite managed to compete with its more popular cousin, and has periodically gone out of print.
Now, however, Cracked has embraced the online model with gusto, and is one of the most popular video and text humor sites around. In particular, they created a workshop calling to people who understood their particular sense of the ironic, and offered to pay for quality articles. Anyone is invited to sign up in the forum, toss around ideas, and the good ones are purchased. Instead of paying a fixed staff of writers, the magazine now has a massive pool of talent that provides fresh angles and weird ideas in bulk.
Fact 3 - the Web is Multicultural
Multiculturalism is one of those hot words that can cause massive debate just about anywhere, and is not something this article is focused on. However, the fact of the Web is that people from China now can and do have long discussions with folk from Denmark, who chat with young people in the USA, who play online shooters with fellow fans from Mexico.
There is of course still room to focus on a core audience. A shoe store in the US with no international aspirations hardly needs a Swedish language option on their site. However, many people in the south and southwest of the United States speak Spanish as a first or second language, and going so far as to include even this small option could open up a new world of grateful customers.
The point is that those who want to maximize their reach need to understand that the Web is diverse and not the least bit homogeneous. Assumptions and preconceptions have to be checked at the door, and an open-mindedness ready to reach out to others on their terms will do any company good service.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Military students often learn of a certain mistake that a commander can make: fighting last year's war with this year's tools. The lesson is that it may not work to use the newest techniques and technologies as a way to do the same old thing more effectively, when the answer instead might be using new tools to foster an entirely new approach. The concept holds true in many fields, especially in the discipline of social media marketing.
The Internet and the Web are incredibly powerful tools, enabling high-speed communication and extraordinarily widespread access. Marketers of the late 80s would have killed for the ability to get their commercials in front of the billions of people who use the Web today. Both technologies have revolutionized the way people communicate, allowing letters to be sent to hundreds of recipients for pennies and no postage. The viral message has become one of the most talked about features of the modern age. So why do so many advertisers simply use the Web in the same fashion as television or radio advertisements?
People aren't always able to see the possibilities in a new technology, for one thing. Yes, this is the age of YouTube and the viral video, but for the majority of its existence the Web has been accessed through dialup rather than broadband. Apart from attachment-free emails and instant message texts, communication over the Internet wasn't necessarily any more efficient than television. Large video or even audio files were not something that could be downloaded quickly, so the Web was simply not prepared for advertisers to try out their entirely new visions.
Of course, now that broadband is widely available and increasing in speed all the time, this has all changed. Videos can be downloaded in minutes, and audio podcasts often take mere seconds to acquire. The technology has grown into much more of its potential capability, and the time has come to pioneer new methods for dealing with it. To do so, advertisers and marketers need to be aware of some basic facts.
Fact 1 - the Web is Ceaseless
Television has a schedule; one that hasn't varied greatly in the last few decades. There is daytime television, prime time television, and late night television. There are tidewaters for when certain materials can be shown. Advertising campaigns are built around these schedules, beginning and ending at certain times.
This does not, cannot, and will not ever work for the Web.
There is always someone on the Web. There are no tidewaters for when certain information will be more desirable, because every time one user logs off to get some sleep or go to work, twenty more may log on just three time zones west.
There cannot be an advertising 'campaign' in the traditional sense of the word under these circumstances. With people constantly logging in and out of the assorted social sites to check up on what's popular, or who's still friends with whom, a single commercial isn't going to particularly register. Modern marketing techniques need to look at ways to maintain a persistent, natural presence in the minds of their audience if they're to have any hope of keeping up.
Fact 2 - the Web is Interactive
This has been discussed in many, many places and in just as many ways. Post anything at all, and the Web will give feedback, informed or uninformed. All those people who are logging on have opinions that they might not necessarily have leeway to express at the office, and they're all too happy to share them online.
Discussions of the pros and cons of this phenomenon can be had just about anywhere, so instead consider the example of the online humor site, Cracked. Formerly a magazine in the style of MAD magazine, Cracked has always specialized in offbeat humor that looks at the ironies in life. It also never quite managed to compete with its more popular cousin, and has periodically gone out of print.
Now, however, Cracked has embraced the online model with gusto, and is one of the most popular video and text humor sites around. In particular, they created a workshop calling to people who understood their particular sense of the ironic, and offered to pay for quality articles. Anyone is invited to sign up in the forum, toss around ideas, and the good ones are purchased. Instead of paying a fixed staff of writers, the magazine now has a massive pool of talent that provides fresh angles and weird ideas in bulk.
Fact 3 - the Web is Multicultural
Multiculturalism is one of those hot words that can cause massive debate just about anywhere, and is not something this article is focused on. However, the fact of the Web is that people from China now can and do have long discussions with folk from Denmark, who chat with young people in the USA, who play online shooters with fellow fans from Mexico.
There is of course still room to focus on a core audience. A shoe store in the US with no international aspirations hardly needs a Swedish language option on their site. However, many people in the south and southwest of the United States speak Spanish as a first or second language, and going so far as to include even this small option could open up a new world of grateful customers.
The point is that those who want to maximize their reach need to understand that the Web is diverse and not the least bit homogeneous. Assumptions and preconceptions have to be checked at the door, and an open-mindedness ready to reach out to others on their terms will do any company good service.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Your Internet Marketing Virtual Vending Machine Route
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Willie Crawford
When I'm being introduced at seminars and tele-events, the emcee often points out that I have over 1600 websites. This usually grabs the attention of audience members who have to wonder why I have so many websites, and how I manage them. So, let me enlighten you.
First of all, I have friends who talk about wanting to set up 500 to 1000 profitable websites, each earning as little as $1 per day on average. If this can be accomplished, then my friends would be at or above the income level that they really hope for, and if it can be done in a way that requires very little maintenance, then it would also afford them the lifestyle that they want.
That's part of my thinking too, but I'd like to have 2000 niche mini-sites, each earning an average of just $1 per day. That's $2000 per day ($730,000 per year).
I am working on accomplishing this by the way.
I see having something like this as being equivalent to having a vending machine route, where the average machine isn't in the busiest location, but each one is profitable, and they require very little maintenance.
I want my websites to be my virtual vending machine route.
I think that what really pushed me to actually start setting this up was listening to my friend David Perdew, founder of the Niche Affiliate Marketing System. He teaches something similar. You can listen to an interview that I did recently with David where we discussed this very topic at: http://timic.org/DavidPerdew
People listening to David and I talking, have to wonder if it's even possible to build 500 or so mini-sites in a reasonable amount of time, without spending a small fortune. The answer is yes, especially if you build them on the easy to set up, optimize, and maintain WordPress Blog platform.
I personally can install and customize a WordPress Blog in under 10 minutes, and that includes uploading my own custom header graphic. I'm talking about a blog that has several dozen plug-ins also installed, configured and activated.
I'll admit that I "cheat" when installing the blogs. I use a piece of software that automates much of the process. A programmer friend has created an installer that only asks for my domain log-in info, and it uploads and configures the blog for me automatically.
My friend who wrote this software pointed out that since there are millions of WordPress users, hackers and criminals know all of the default settings, so his installer changes the default settings AS it installs the blogs, making your blog installation much more secure.
I know, you're wondering how you can get your hands on this miracle blog installer... and how many hundreds of dollars does it cost. I've actually convinced my friend to GIVE you a copy of his installer. Like many programmers, he likes having his work used, so he'll give it to my readers if you'll just visit http://timic.org/111
Many of my readers are also paying $20 a month or so to host their sites, plus they are paying extra for each domain that they add onto their hosting account, so when they do the math, they calculate that hosting just 500 domains has to cost over $1000 per month. They can't afford to spend that kind of money at this point.
I CAN afford to spend that much on hosting my sites, but I don't. In fact, I spend less than $500 per YEAR to host up to 5000 domain names. That hosting is spread across 5 different pairs of IP addresses, so I can cross-link some of my related websites, and it doesn't look to the search engines as if I'm just linking to myself.
Here's where I get that fantastic hosting deal: http://timic.org/112
If you check out that url, you'll see that when you get hosting where I do, that the very same blog installer that I use is included :-)
Now, you also have to wonder how I manage so many sites. My answer is two part...
First of all I keep my sites fairly streamlined, and I use automation a lot. I'm also very organized and very disciplined. I do things on a schedule, and that makes sure that I can properly manage all of my sites.
Secondly, I don't do it all myself. I maintain a help desk, and have links on most of my sites pointing to one centralized help desk. Tech/Customer support personnel log-in regularly and take care of 95% of the support tickets that come in without any input from me.
In fact, my help desk personnel have pre-composed answers in a drop-down menu for 99% of the questions or requests that they get. So they can respond to the typical request (something like a misplaced download link) in under a minute.
Before you object to the expense of operating a help desk, or having someone work for you, remember that my goal is $2000 per day. If I spend even $500 of that per day for others to do the work for me, I'm still left with over half a million dollars per year... before taxes.
I think that I can manage to live on that and that the average person can too. In fact, I'm aggressively setting most of it aside for a rainy day... I live a fairly simple life-style and have other income streams... such as my offline consulting and joint venture brokering businesses.
Another part of this strategy though is that as you build out all of these mini-websites, some of them will naturally blossom, and be worth a lot. When I have a site that suddenly grows to where it's worth say $5000 or even $10,000, my plan is to sell it. $5000 for a site averaging $1 per day is nearly 14 years worth of income, so to me it will make sense to sell off many of those sites.
You see, I view it all as a well-thought-out business. I do have a complete plan, but it's fairly close to what David shows you in a video posted on his site, at the first url that I mentioned above.
The only other mystery may be, "How do I get traffic to all of these sites?" That's something that I've spent the past 14 years really mastering. It's also the topic of another 10-part article series that I wrote.
If you'd really like to learn how to plug traffic into your websites, using all free and low-cost methods, grab the traffic generation course that Doug Champigny and I recorded.
Doug Champigny has been online for about as long as I have, and we recorded an MP3 where we spent over three hours explaining 15 different ways that we plug traffic into our websites. You can download that MP3 to your iPod, or burn it to a CD, and then you can listen to it while out exercising or on a long drive... or commuting back and forth from that J-O-B that you want to leave.
You really can set up a series of mini-websites that are very much like having your very own virtual vending route.
How long this will take you depends upon how much time you have to devote to it, what tools you use, and how willing you are to get someone to help you. Even though I'm very good at setting up mini-sites, I don't do everything myself.
I also don't spend a lot of cash, even when I get someone else to do 90% of the work. Instead, I just make them a partner, and use software to track sales and automatically share the profits with them.
How much you can actually make from doing this depends upon so many factors that I can't even begin to guess. Probably the biggest factor is how well you research your niches, and confirm the profit potential before you even start.
Most of the time that I spend on many of my sites IS doing that research before I even decide on the niche. Putting in the time to actually do the research (or feasibility study) is what ensures that I don't waste a lot of time. Admittedly, I've been doing this so long that a lot of it is now intuitive. So, you may have to spend a little more time doing the research than I do.
Anyway, I've just laid out a big part of my retirement blueprint. Once I get those 2000 mini-sites "clicking" then I quite literally could have someone else take my "operations manual"... my notes.... and run things for me, while I spend all my time just enjoying life... or should I say enjoying "The Internet Life-style?"
About the Author:
Willie Crawford has been running online businesses since 1996. To continue learning from him, simply visit his main website and subscribe to his free newsletter athttp://WillieCrawford.com/
Follow Willie Crawford on Twitter.
Copyright © 2010 Willie Crawford
When I'm being introduced at seminars and tele-events, the emcee often points out that I have over 1600 websites. This usually grabs the attention of audience members who have to wonder why I have so many websites, and how I manage them. So, let me enlighten you.
First of all, I have friends who talk about wanting to set up 500 to 1000 profitable websites, each earning as little as $1 per day on average. If this can be accomplished, then my friends would be at or above the income level that they really hope for, and if it can be done in a way that requires very little maintenance, then it would also afford them the lifestyle that they want.
That's part of my thinking too, but I'd like to have 2000 niche mini-sites, each earning an average of just $1 per day. That's $2000 per day ($730,000 per year).
I am working on accomplishing this by the way.
I see having something like this as being equivalent to having a vending machine route, where the average machine isn't in the busiest location, but each one is profitable, and they require very little maintenance.
I want my websites to be my virtual vending machine route.
I think that what really pushed me to actually start setting this up was listening to my friend David Perdew, founder of the Niche Affiliate Marketing System. He teaches something similar. You can listen to an interview that I did recently with David where we discussed this very topic at: http://timic.org/DavidPerdew
People listening to David and I talking, have to wonder if it's even possible to build 500 or so mini-sites in a reasonable amount of time, without spending a small fortune. The answer is yes, especially if you build them on the easy to set up, optimize, and maintain WordPress Blog platform.
I personally can install and customize a WordPress Blog in under 10 minutes, and that includes uploading my own custom header graphic. I'm talking about a blog that has several dozen plug-ins also installed, configured and activated.
I'll admit that I "cheat" when installing the blogs. I use a piece of software that automates much of the process. A programmer friend has created an installer that only asks for my domain log-in info, and it uploads and configures the blog for me automatically.
My friend who wrote this software pointed out that since there are millions of WordPress users, hackers and criminals know all of the default settings, so his installer changes the default settings AS it installs the blogs, making your blog installation much more secure.
I know, you're wondering how you can get your hands on this miracle blog installer... and how many hundreds of dollars does it cost. I've actually convinced my friend to GIVE you a copy of his installer. Like many programmers, he likes having his work used, so he'll give it to my readers if you'll just visit http://timic.org/111
Many of my readers are also paying $20 a month or so to host their sites, plus they are paying extra for each domain that they add onto their hosting account, so when they do the math, they calculate that hosting just 500 domains has to cost over $1000 per month. They can't afford to spend that kind of money at this point.
I CAN afford to spend that much on hosting my sites, but I don't. In fact, I spend less than $500 per YEAR to host up to 5000 domain names. That hosting is spread across 5 different pairs of IP addresses, so I can cross-link some of my related websites, and it doesn't look to the search engines as if I'm just linking to myself.
Here's where I get that fantastic hosting deal: http://timic.org/112
If you check out that url, you'll see that when you get hosting where I do, that the very same blog installer that I use is included :-)
Now, you also have to wonder how I manage so many sites. My answer is two part...
First of all I keep my sites fairly streamlined, and I use automation a lot. I'm also very organized and very disciplined. I do things on a schedule, and that makes sure that I can properly manage all of my sites.
Secondly, I don't do it all myself. I maintain a help desk, and have links on most of my sites pointing to one centralized help desk. Tech/Customer support personnel log-in regularly and take care of 95% of the support tickets that come in without any input from me.
In fact, my help desk personnel have pre-composed answers in a drop-down menu for 99% of the questions or requests that they get. So they can respond to the typical request (something like a misplaced download link) in under a minute.
Before you object to the expense of operating a help desk, or having someone work for you, remember that my goal is $2000 per day. If I spend even $500 of that per day for others to do the work for me, I'm still left with over half a million dollars per year... before taxes.
I think that I can manage to live on that and that the average person can too. In fact, I'm aggressively setting most of it aside for a rainy day... I live a fairly simple life-style and have other income streams... such as my offline consulting and joint venture brokering businesses.
Another part of this strategy though is that as you build out all of these mini-websites, some of them will naturally blossom, and be worth a lot. When I have a site that suddenly grows to where it's worth say $5000 or even $10,000, my plan is to sell it. $5000 for a site averaging $1 per day is nearly 14 years worth of income, so to me it will make sense to sell off many of those sites.
You see, I view it all as a well-thought-out business. I do have a complete plan, but it's fairly close to what David shows you in a video posted on his site, at the first url that I mentioned above.
The only other mystery may be, "How do I get traffic to all of these sites?" That's something that I've spent the past 14 years really mastering. It's also the topic of another 10-part article series that I wrote.
If you'd really like to learn how to plug traffic into your websites, using all free and low-cost methods, grab the traffic generation course that Doug Champigny and I recorded.
Doug Champigny has been online for about as long as I have, and we recorded an MP3 where we spent over three hours explaining 15 different ways that we plug traffic into our websites. You can download that MP3 to your iPod, or burn it to a CD, and then you can listen to it while out exercising or on a long drive... or commuting back and forth from that J-O-B that you want to leave.
You really can set up a series of mini-websites that are very much like having your very own virtual vending route.
How long this will take you depends upon how much time you have to devote to it, what tools you use, and how willing you are to get someone to help you. Even though I'm very good at setting up mini-sites, I don't do everything myself.
I also don't spend a lot of cash, even when I get someone else to do 90% of the work. Instead, I just make them a partner, and use software to track sales and automatically share the profits with them.
How much you can actually make from doing this depends upon so many factors that I can't even begin to guess. Probably the biggest factor is how well you research your niches, and confirm the profit potential before you even start.
Most of the time that I spend on many of my sites IS doing that research before I even decide on the niche. Putting in the time to actually do the research (or feasibility study) is what ensures that I don't waste a lot of time. Admittedly, I've been doing this so long that a lot of it is now intuitive. So, you may have to spend a little more time doing the research than I do.
Anyway, I've just laid out a big part of my retirement blueprint. Once I get those 2000 mini-sites "clicking" then I quite literally could have someone else take my "operations manual"... my notes.... and run things for me, while I spend all my time just enjoying life... or should I say enjoying "The Internet Life-style?"
About the Author:
Willie Crawford has been running online businesses since 1996. To continue learning from him, simply visit his main website and subscribe to his free newsletter athttp://WillieCrawford.com/
Follow Willie Crawford on Twitter.
What Marketing Do You REALLY Need Right Now?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Judy Murdoch
Many small business owners I talk to always seem to be playing catch up when it comes to their marketing.
Last week when I told a small business owner that she was doing a good job with her marketing, she replied "Oh, but I have so much to do!" in an apologetic tone.
So I asked her, "What is it that you have to do?"
"Well," she said, "I need to redo my website, write a new brochure, update my Facebook page, and call clients whom I haven't seen for a while.
"I'm also wondering, do I need to get a Twitter account and do I need to have a blog AND a website?"
Listening to her I felt sad. I mean who the heck laid down these requirements that a small business has to have so much in place so fast?
=== It Wasn't Always This Way
100 years ago: before there were computers or radio or TV or desktop publishing, the requirements for being ready for business were simple and concrete.
For example, let's say you're newly arrived in Denver, CO around 1890. At this time, the American West is still pretty wild and there are thousands of people traveling west who need to supplies and gear for their trek through the mountains
You decide you're going to open a dry goods store and sell supplies to all these aspiring miners and ranchers.
To have your business up and running you need:
land for your shop and a place to store supplies (and city permits which were required by this time)
lumber, equipment, and labor to build your store
a source of fresh water
fuel to keep the place warm when it gets cold out
a dependable source of goods to sell to customers
customers (of course!)
Assuming you had the above along with a strong work ethic, some organization skills, and a grasp of accounting and inventory management, you had a good chance of succeeding.
I'm not saying this was easy. However the steps and the order in which you took the steps was clear cut and definite.
=== Nowadays
In our brave new world of the Internet and the ability to connect with buyers around the world, it has become possible to start a business with little more than a good idea, a computer, and an Internet connection.
The promise is that anyone can set up everything they need for a successful business in a matter of weeks.
And that's the problem.
Because on the one hand, it's true: within a week you could have your
website
social network accounts (like Twitter and Facebook)
blog
and online store
set up and ready for business.
And this is what is so horribly overwhelming for small business owners. It seems like you should have all these things set up and if you don't, you're somehow doing it wrong.
=== The Answer: Four Foundational Marketing Elements
This brings us back to the original topic: what marketing tools and structures do you really need in place so that your business grows at a healthy pace?
Here are four foundational marketing elements that every business needs to have in place:
1. You need a clear definition of who you're serving and the problem you're helping them with.
2. You need a way for strangers to find out who you are and how you help.
For example, attending networking events, publishing articles, blogging and contributing to discussion forums are all ways to introduce yourself
3. You need a way to stay in touch with people who are interested but not ready to buy.
For example, postcard mailings, newsletters, and ezines are all ways to keep in touch.
4. You need at least one offer so that when people are ready to buy, you'll know what customer problems your offer addresses, what questions to ask to find out if your offer is right for a prospect, and how to answer prospect questions.
Once you have a good definition of who your ideal customer is, you choose one, maybe two (at the most) activities for each element.
=== Example: Applying the Four Marketing Elements
Marianne is a nutritionist who, until recently, worked for a large university hospital. She's now in the process of setting up a private practice with the intention to split her time between seeing private patients and teaching classes.
Here is what Marianne has in place for her marketing:
1. Marianne has defined her ideal client as "adults who were recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes and want to find ways to control their blood sugar without using insulin injections."
Marianne specializes in helping her patients plan and carry out diet and exercise programs that make them less insulin dependent.
2. To meet people who might need her help, Marianne, keeps in contact with local doctors who are likely to make the initial diagnosis.
She also writes tips and how-to articles that she publishes on online article submission sites like Associated Content and Bukisa.
Marianne makes sure that when someone she meets wants to know more, they have the URL to a page on her website so they can subscribe to her newsletter.
3. To keep in touch with people who are interested in what she does but are not yet ready to make an appointment, Marianne writes a bi-monthly newsletter she emails to prospects.
In each newsletter she has a useful tip or how to.
She often uses what she's written in a newsletter as an submission to article publishing sites.
In this way she gets the most from the articles she writes.
4. Marianne's practice is relatively new and she has only one offer: individual counseling sessions with patients to help them create and follow diet/exercise plans.
She has one page on her website that covers the main points of her offer and suggest clients either send in a form or call her to set up some time to talk by phone.
Because many of her clients are 65+ Marianne has a printed one-page flyer that has the same information as her website page in case a prospective client is uncomfortable with using the Internet.
To summarize, Marianne has set up the following elements to market her practice:
simple website
a bi-monthly newsletter
scheduled calls to primary care physicians
articles (which come mostly from her newsletter) submitted to online publication sites
Marianne does not have a Twitter account or a Facebook page or a shopping cart or a blog. She doesn't do podcasts or make videos to show on YouTube. She could have these things but right now *she doesn't need to*.
=== Bottom Line
There is a perception among small business owners that they have to set up and implement hundreds of available marketing activities in order to be "doing it right."
This is because
there are so many different technologies that allow business owners to connect with prospective customers
business owners are always hearing buzz about these technologies
the technologies are often free and easy to implement.
The key is to know what you and your business need to connect effectively with perspective customers.
Generally you need to set up only one or two activities to get in touch, keep in touch, and sell in order to keep a healthy stream of new customers and revenue coming into your small business.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Follow Judy Murdoch on Twitter.
Copyright © 2010 Judy Murdoch
Many small business owners I talk to always seem to be playing catch up when it comes to their marketing.
Last week when I told a small business owner that she was doing a good job with her marketing, she replied "Oh, but I have so much to do!" in an apologetic tone.
So I asked her, "What is it that you have to do?"
"Well," she said, "I need to redo my website, write a new brochure, update my Facebook page, and call clients whom I haven't seen for a while.
"I'm also wondering, do I need to get a Twitter account and do I need to have a blog AND a website?"
Listening to her I felt sad. I mean who the heck laid down these requirements that a small business has to have so much in place so fast?
=== It Wasn't Always This Way
100 years ago: before there were computers or radio or TV or desktop publishing, the requirements for being ready for business were simple and concrete.
For example, let's say you're newly arrived in Denver, CO around 1890. At this time, the American West is still pretty wild and there are thousands of people traveling west who need to supplies and gear for their trek through the mountains
You decide you're going to open a dry goods store and sell supplies to all these aspiring miners and ranchers.
To have your business up and running you need:
Assuming you had the above along with a strong work ethic, some organization skills, and a grasp of accounting and inventory management, you had a good chance of succeeding.
I'm not saying this was easy. However the steps and the order in which you took the steps was clear cut and definite.
=== Nowadays
In our brave new world of the Internet and the ability to connect with buyers around the world, it has become possible to start a business with little more than a good idea, a computer, and an Internet connection.
The promise is that anyone can set up everything they need for a successful business in a matter of weeks.
And that's the problem.
Because on the one hand, it's true: within a week you could have your
set up and ready for business.
And this is what is so horribly overwhelming for small business owners. It seems like you should have all these things set up and if you don't, you're somehow doing it wrong.
=== The Answer: Four Foundational Marketing Elements
This brings us back to the original topic: what marketing tools and structures do you really need in place so that your business grows at a healthy pace?
Here are four foundational marketing elements that every business needs to have in place:
1. You need a clear definition of who you're serving and the problem you're helping them with.
2. You need a way for strangers to find out who you are and how you help.
For example, attending networking events, publishing articles, blogging and contributing to discussion forums are all ways to introduce yourself
3. You need a way to stay in touch with people who are interested but not ready to buy.
For example, postcard mailings, newsletters, and ezines are all ways to keep in touch.
4. You need at least one offer so that when people are ready to buy, you'll know what customer problems your offer addresses, what questions to ask to find out if your offer is right for a prospect, and how to answer prospect questions.
Once you have a good definition of who your ideal customer is, you choose one, maybe two (at the most) activities for each element.
=== Example: Applying the Four Marketing Elements
Marianne is a nutritionist who, until recently, worked for a large university hospital. She's now in the process of setting up a private practice with the intention to split her time between seeing private patients and teaching classes.
Here is what Marianne has in place for her marketing:
1. Marianne has defined her ideal client as "adults who were recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes and want to find ways to control their blood sugar without using insulin injections."
Marianne specializes in helping her patients plan and carry out diet and exercise programs that make them less insulin dependent.
2. To meet people who might need her help, Marianne, keeps in contact with local doctors who are likely to make the initial diagnosis.
She also writes tips and how-to articles that she publishes on online article submission sites like Associated Content and Bukisa.
Marianne makes sure that when someone she meets wants to know more, they have the URL to a page on her website so they can subscribe to her newsletter.
3. To keep in touch with people who are interested in what she does but are not yet ready to make an appointment, Marianne writes a bi-monthly newsletter she emails to prospects.
In each newsletter she has a useful tip or how to.
She often uses what she's written in a newsletter as an submission to article publishing sites.
In this way she gets the most from the articles she writes.
4. Marianne's practice is relatively new and she has only one offer: individual counseling sessions with patients to help them create and follow diet/exercise plans.
She has one page on her website that covers the main points of her offer and suggest clients either send in a form or call her to set up some time to talk by phone.
Because many of her clients are 65+ Marianne has a printed one-page flyer that has the same information as her website page in case a prospective client is uncomfortable with using the Internet.
To summarize, Marianne has set up the following elements to market her practice:
Marianne does not have a Twitter account or a Facebook page or a shopping cart or a blog. She doesn't do podcasts or make videos to show on YouTube. She could have these things but right now *she doesn't need to*.
=== Bottom Line
There is a perception among small business owners that they have to set up and implement hundreds of available marketing activities in order to be "doing it right."
This is because
The key is to know what you and your business need to connect effectively with perspective customers.
Generally you need to set up only one or two activities to get in touch, keep in touch, and sell in order to keep a healthy stream of new customers and revenue coming into your small business.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Follow Judy Murdoch on Twitter.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
VoIP Phone Systems - The Future Is in Your Hands
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Steve Dublim
Year by year, a new gadget or gizmo is introduced in telephone technology. From mobile phones, to text messaging, to smart phones and beyond, telephones have evolved into a brilliant means of multi-faceted communication. VoIP phone systems (stands for Voice over Internet Protocol) have changed the way businesses - both large and small - communicate. Affordable, portable and easy to use, VoIP technology is the phone of the future.
Starting a small business is a challenge in and of itself - from office supplies and overhead, to staff salaries, to everyday operations, there's a lot a business owner must juggle in order to successfully manage a small business. 'Hiccups' often come with maintaining a business; therefore, it's important to find providers that offer VoIP phone systems strictly to smaller companies. You deserve undivided attention from VoIP specialists without having to compete with larger corporations. In other words, the VoIP company you use should level the playing field for your small business.
Owning a small business isn't easy, especially in today's economy. Companies are folding left and right, and staying afloat - let alone being profitable - is rather grueling. VoIP phone systems are practical for businesses looking to cut cost wherever possible. For a low monthly fee, you'll enjoy all the features of a traditional land line, as well as long distance calling, without paying extra. Enjoy call waiting, call holding, conference calling, caller identification, call forwarding and much more for a flat rate each month. VoIP technology makes everyday relations affordable and easy.
Another benefit of VoIP phone systems that small businesses appreciate is portability. Oftentimes, travel is an important part of owning a business, and to maintain professionalism, you need a reliable and clear means of communication when you're away from the office. Mobile phones are advantageous but not always dependable. With IP phones, you can plug your phone into your computer and instantly receive/make phone calls - all you need is a broadband connection. VoIP technology allows you to take the office with you wherever you travel - and that is important for small business owners trying to sustain client relations.
When it comes to communications - whether amongst colleagues or customers - you need a phone system that is easy to use. VoIP technology takes the guesswork out of a business phone system. Gone are the days of blankly staring at your office phone without a clue as to how to operate it; VoIP phones are user-friendly and include all sorts of business features. When looking for a provider of VoIP phone systems, make sure the company customizes your plan according to your business's needs.
Stop paying too much for your office phone system; instead, enjoy all the features of a traditional land line at a fraction of the cost. VoIP technology puts the future in your hands - literally.
About the Author:
Steve Dublim has a passion for technology, and for business communication. He gladly recommends Voip Phone Systems, and prefers systems that use hosted PBX. Learn more at: http://www.vocalocity.com/
Visit Steve Dublim's website.
Copyright © 2010 Steve Dublim
Year by year, a new gadget or gizmo is introduced in telephone technology. From mobile phones, to text messaging, to smart phones and beyond, telephones have evolved into a brilliant means of multi-faceted communication. VoIP phone systems (stands for Voice over Internet Protocol) have changed the way businesses - both large and small - communicate. Affordable, portable and easy to use, VoIP technology is the phone of the future.
Starting a small business is a challenge in and of itself - from office supplies and overhead, to staff salaries, to everyday operations, there's a lot a business owner must juggle in order to successfully manage a small business. 'Hiccups' often come with maintaining a business; therefore, it's important to find providers that offer VoIP phone systems strictly to smaller companies. You deserve undivided attention from VoIP specialists without having to compete with larger corporations. In other words, the VoIP company you use should level the playing field for your small business.
Owning a small business isn't easy, especially in today's economy. Companies are folding left and right, and staying afloat - let alone being profitable - is rather grueling. VoIP phone systems are practical for businesses looking to cut cost wherever possible. For a low monthly fee, you'll enjoy all the features of a traditional land line, as well as long distance calling, without paying extra. Enjoy call waiting, call holding, conference calling, caller identification, call forwarding and much more for a flat rate each month. VoIP technology makes everyday relations affordable and easy.
Another benefit of VoIP phone systems that small businesses appreciate is portability. Oftentimes, travel is an important part of owning a business, and to maintain professionalism, you need a reliable and clear means of communication when you're away from the office. Mobile phones are advantageous but not always dependable. With IP phones, you can plug your phone into your computer and instantly receive/make phone calls - all you need is a broadband connection. VoIP technology allows you to take the office with you wherever you travel - and that is important for small business owners trying to sustain client relations.
When it comes to communications - whether amongst colleagues or customers - you need a phone system that is easy to use. VoIP technology takes the guesswork out of a business phone system. Gone are the days of blankly staring at your office phone without a clue as to how to operate it; VoIP phones are user-friendly and include all sorts of business features. When looking for a provider of VoIP phone systems, make sure the company customizes your plan according to your business's needs.
Stop paying too much for your office phone system; instead, enjoy all the features of a traditional land line at a fraction of the cost. VoIP technology puts the future in your hands - literally.
About the Author:
Steve Dublim has a passion for technology, and for business communication. He gladly recommends Voip Phone Systems, and prefers systems that use hosted PBX. Learn more at: http://www.vocalocity.com/
Visit Steve Dublim's website.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Send Fax Online - Just How Is It Done?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Titus Hoskins
For those who are used to the old traditional fax machine, sending a fax online may seem somewhat puzzling. Just how is it done? What equipment do you need? More importantly, why should I or my company switch over to online faxing?
All these questions are frequently asked by those considering this new way of faxing. Perhaps the best way to answer these questions is to fully explain what Internet fax is and how it is done.
First, you must realize online faxing is simply bringing all your faxing chores into the modern business workplace, one that is directly wired to computers and the Internet. Online fax is simply using your email system and your web connection to send and receive all your faxes. It is as simple and as easy as sending an email.
We won't bore you with all the technical details of exactly how it works, but we will give you the basics of how you go about setting up an online fax account or number. In order to use online faxing, you have to first sign-up to an online fax service provider who will give you your own Toll-free or Local fax number. Some companies will let you "port" your current fax number into their system, but you should check with the company first to see if they do this and how much it will cost you?
Once you have signed up to a fax provider, they will usually give you an online fax account or interface, where you can logon and send/receive all your faxes. Or many services have a desktop application you can download to your desktop and use this to send/receive your faxes. Still another way is to use your current Windows Outlook Express, as many providers have this as another way to send your faxes. Your faxes are sent as email attachments, usually as a Tiff or Pdf file, although there are many other different formats you can use, so check with your service provider first to see which ones.
What you have to understand, online faxing is a form of "cloud computing" where your faxing services are outsourced to a third-party. They act as your intermediary to handle all your faxes. There are some great advantages to doing this: you don't need an extra fax phone line and you don't need an actual fax machine. Plus, set-up is free and very immediate, within minutes you can have your own fax number. For a company or business just starting up your costs will be very minimum. And these fax services are completely scalable for businesses; so you can easily increase or decrease your number of fax numbers without the expense of buying extra hardware (fax machines and fax phone lines).
Another great benefit of using online fax - it is much more cheaper than using a fax machine. On average your monthly charges will run around $10, but there are cheaper services out there, so it pays to shop around. Also remember, since everything is done online, you don't have the cost of an extra fax phone line, nor do you have the cost of buying a fax machine. In addition, since it is paperless faxing, you obviously don't have the costs of papers, inks, toners or fax machine maintenance... all these expenses do add up over time.
Some of the more popular Internet fax service providers are: eFax®, RingCentral, MyFax, Faxage, RapidFax, Metrofax, Trustfax, Send2Fax, Nextiva, GoFaxer, Popfax... and many more. Since this is usually a long term business expense, you should shop around and find the service that perfectly matches your needs. Thankfully, many of these major providers have 30 Day Free Trials so you can check out a service before you buy.
If your faxing is very minimum, then you can get a service for as little as $20 a month. If your company or business relies heavily upon faxing to bring in sales or for contacting clients, keep in mind, most of these services are completely scalable for businesses, so you can set up special arrangements with many of these providers to suit your own company's faxing needs.
One last word, the reasons why online faxing have become so popular is mainly because it is easy to do, completely mobile, more convenient and much more cheaper than the regular fax machine. Moreover, it brings all your faxing into the modern world and the modern work environment. In no time at all, if anyone should ask you: Send fax online, how is that done? You will know the answer.
About the Author:
For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online Comparison Guide to: send fax online. Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: internet fax services.
Copyright (c) 2010 Titus Hoskins. http://www.bizwaremagic.com This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
Read more Articles written by Titus Hoskins.
Copyright © 2010 Titus Hoskins
For those who are used to the old traditional fax machine, sending a fax online may seem somewhat puzzling. Just how is it done? What equipment do you need? More importantly, why should I or my company switch over to online faxing?
All these questions are frequently asked by those considering this new way of faxing. Perhaps the best way to answer these questions is to fully explain what Internet fax is and how it is done.
First, you must realize online faxing is simply bringing all your faxing chores into the modern business workplace, one that is directly wired to computers and the Internet. Online fax is simply using your email system and your web connection to send and receive all your faxes. It is as simple and as easy as sending an email.
We won't bore you with all the technical details of exactly how it works, but we will give you the basics of how you go about setting up an online fax account or number. In order to use online faxing, you have to first sign-up to an online fax service provider who will give you your own Toll-free or Local fax number. Some companies will let you "port" your current fax number into their system, but you should check with the company first to see if they do this and how much it will cost you?
Once you have signed up to a fax provider, they will usually give you an online fax account or interface, where you can logon and send/receive all your faxes. Or many services have a desktop application you can download to your desktop and use this to send/receive your faxes. Still another way is to use your current Windows Outlook Express, as many providers have this as another way to send your faxes. Your faxes are sent as email attachments, usually as a Tiff or Pdf file, although there are many other different formats you can use, so check with your service provider first to see which ones.
What you have to understand, online faxing is a form of "cloud computing" where your faxing services are outsourced to a third-party. They act as your intermediary to handle all your faxes. There are some great advantages to doing this: you don't need an extra fax phone line and you don't need an actual fax machine. Plus, set-up is free and very immediate, within minutes you can have your own fax number. For a company or business just starting up your costs will be very minimum. And these fax services are completely scalable for businesses; so you can easily increase or decrease your number of fax numbers without the expense of buying extra hardware (fax machines and fax phone lines).
Another great benefit of using online fax - it is much more cheaper than using a fax machine. On average your monthly charges will run around $10, but there are cheaper services out there, so it pays to shop around. Also remember, since everything is done online, you don't have the cost of an extra fax phone line, nor do you have the cost of buying a fax machine. In addition, since it is paperless faxing, you obviously don't have the costs of papers, inks, toners or fax machine maintenance... all these expenses do add up over time.
Some of the more popular Internet fax service providers are: eFax®, RingCentral, MyFax, Faxage, RapidFax, Metrofax, Trustfax, Send2Fax, Nextiva, GoFaxer, Popfax... and many more. Since this is usually a long term business expense, you should shop around and find the service that perfectly matches your needs. Thankfully, many of these major providers have 30 Day Free Trials so you can check out a service before you buy.
If your faxing is very minimum, then you can get a service for as little as $20 a month. If your company or business relies heavily upon faxing to bring in sales or for contacting clients, keep in mind, most of these services are completely scalable for businesses, so you can set up special arrangements with many of these providers to suit your own company's faxing needs.
One last word, the reasons why online faxing have become so popular is mainly because it is easy to do, completely mobile, more convenient and much more cheaper than the regular fax machine. Moreover, it brings all your faxing into the modern world and the modern work environment. In no time at all, if anyone should ask you: Send fax online, how is that done? You will know the answer.
About the Author:
For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online Comparison Guide to: send fax online. Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: internet fax services.
Copyright (c) 2010 Titus Hoskins. http://www.bizwaremagic.com This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
Read more Articles written by Titus Hoskins.
Social Media Marketing Agencies
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Experts exist for a reason. For example, there are many tasks the average car owner can perform on their own with a little practice; they maybe can change the oil, replace brake pads, tune a few elements. But in many cases it's far more efficient and effective to let an expert dig into the heart of the machine to make it really purr.
Marketing has its own experts, for every conceivable aspect. Entire businesses are founded on the effort to market a product to a client, and there are people who are very, very good at what they do. Almost as soon as there was radio, there were commercials. Television followed suit, and advertising on the Web has begun to follow the same trend.
Fairly new to the field of brand marketing, but establishing a firm foothold all the same, is the social media marketing agency. In many ways similar to the traditional marketing agency, they still stand apart as experts in a particular field, one that is coming to dominate the way net surfers communicate. They offer specific advantages in their expertise that a more general agency might not fully grasp, and are worth a look for anyone serious about developing their brand into an online powerhouse.
A Specific Focus
There are two broad types of marketing agencies, generalists and specialists. General agencies frequently have several departments covering various angles, and definitely have a place in a modern advertising campaign. However, they lack the purity of focus that can come from a specialized approach, and may not be as committed to the realm of ideas the latter can provide.
A social media-specific advertising agency doesn't have the clutter of distraction a more generalized body would. They train specifically in the tasks that gain ground for a brand through social media, including SEO, visual presentation, and linkback techniques. Since they focus on one specific element, there isn't a temptation for them to 'suggest' broadening the horizon by including a television campaign in a social-media effort.
Engage, Engage
The modern brand relationship is no longer the example of the producer making proclamations and staging showings. Instead it is a conversation, an exchange back and forth between the audience and the speaker. Comments can be left, videos and podcasts can go viral and spread word lightning fast, and genuine up-to-date feedback can pour in as fast as an article goes up.
A social media marketing agency will understand these needs, and have the tools to facilitate the conversation. They know how to pick out the groups that are likely to be interested in a product, or the kind of article that will see more attention on Digg. They are practiced in developing the conversations between you and your client, and their services in this field are easy to appreciate.
Making it Stick
The net offers a new power to people looking to make their brand stick in people's minds that has never been consistently available before - the power of persistence.
Previously, a commercial would come up when it came up. The advertiser had limited control over when a commercial might air, and the viewer had no serious way of knowing what commercials would show when. The Internet has changed this significantly. Websites catering to a user's interests are only seconds away at any given time, and can be visited any time the user has a computer and a connection.
This creates the persistence that drives a good brand. When someone is coming to your blog day after day, week after week, your brand becomes part of their life Social media is a great way to make this happen, as it is easier than ever to integrate a blog, Twitter, and Facebook into a sort of press service for your product, be it physical or philosophical. A good social media agency can show you how to bring these ideas together, how to make them work in concert so that thoughts of your brand become as automatic as reading the paper to your audience.
A Clean Fit
There is a lot of talk on the Web about 'organic' results. This doesn't have anything to do with ethically sourced food, but rather with making things fit together seamlessly. An organic effort 'works' together, and doesn't seem forced or choppy. Instead of statements that cram in the same keyword phrase regardless of grammar, it focuses on content that fits into existing topics, that looks genuine because it is genuine.
For example, organic promotion can include work that doesn't mention your brand directly at all. In some cases you might register a forum account on a discussion board that includes topics related to your blog, and provide content of your own to the discussions at hand. You never once mention your website, but instead focus on joining the discussions and making friends, and the entire time your site is linked in your signature. Eventually someone will click it, and start talking about it.
Getting people talking is part of organic promotion as well. When others are sending your link forward and sharing it with people of common interest, you'll see the value of having relied on social media. That's the real power behind it, the power to send out the ripples that get people to notice you. It starts slowly, but builds up irrevocably. So consider looking into an agency that specializes in maximizing social media, as there may be a lesson they can share that gets you the edge you need.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Experts exist for a reason. For example, there are many tasks the average car owner can perform on their own with a little practice; they maybe can change the oil, replace brake pads, tune a few elements. But in many cases it's far more efficient and effective to let an expert dig into the heart of the machine to make it really purr.
Marketing has its own experts, for every conceivable aspect. Entire businesses are founded on the effort to market a product to a client, and there are people who are very, very good at what they do. Almost as soon as there was radio, there were commercials. Television followed suit, and advertising on the Web has begun to follow the same trend.
Fairly new to the field of brand marketing, but establishing a firm foothold all the same, is the social media marketing agency. In many ways similar to the traditional marketing agency, they still stand apart as experts in a particular field, one that is coming to dominate the way net surfers communicate. They offer specific advantages in their expertise that a more general agency might not fully grasp, and are worth a look for anyone serious about developing their brand into an online powerhouse.
A Specific Focus
There are two broad types of marketing agencies, generalists and specialists. General agencies frequently have several departments covering various angles, and definitely have a place in a modern advertising campaign. However, they lack the purity of focus that can come from a specialized approach, and may not be as committed to the realm of ideas the latter can provide.
A social media-specific advertising agency doesn't have the clutter of distraction a more generalized body would. They train specifically in the tasks that gain ground for a brand through social media, including SEO, visual presentation, and linkback techniques. Since they focus on one specific element, there isn't a temptation for them to 'suggest' broadening the horizon by including a television campaign in a social-media effort.
Engage, Engage
The modern brand relationship is no longer the example of the producer making proclamations and staging showings. Instead it is a conversation, an exchange back and forth between the audience and the speaker. Comments can be left, videos and podcasts can go viral and spread word lightning fast, and genuine up-to-date feedback can pour in as fast as an article goes up.
A social media marketing agency will understand these needs, and have the tools to facilitate the conversation. They know how to pick out the groups that are likely to be interested in a product, or the kind of article that will see more attention on Digg. They are practiced in developing the conversations between you and your client, and their services in this field are easy to appreciate.
Making it Stick
The net offers a new power to people looking to make their brand stick in people's minds that has never been consistently available before - the power of persistence.
Previously, a commercial would come up when it came up. The advertiser had limited control over when a commercial might air, and the viewer had no serious way of knowing what commercials would show when. The Internet has changed this significantly. Websites catering to a user's interests are only seconds away at any given time, and can be visited any time the user has a computer and a connection.
This creates the persistence that drives a good brand. When someone is coming to your blog day after day, week after week, your brand becomes part of their life Social media is a great way to make this happen, as it is easier than ever to integrate a blog, Twitter, and Facebook into a sort of press service for your product, be it physical or philosophical. A good social media agency can show you how to bring these ideas together, how to make them work in concert so that thoughts of your brand become as automatic as reading the paper to your audience.
A Clean Fit
There is a lot of talk on the Web about 'organic' results. This doesn't have anything to do with ethically sourced food, but rather with making things fit together seamlessly. An organic effort 'works' together, and doesn't seem forced or choppy. Instead of statements that cram in the same keyword phrase regardless of grammar, it focuses on content that fits into existing topics, that looks genuine because it is genuine.
For example, organic promotion can include work that doesn't mention your brand directly at all. In some cases you might register a forum account on a discussion board that includes topics related to your blog, and provide content of your own to the discussions at hand. You never once mention your website, but instead focus on joining the discussions and making friends, and the entire time your site is linked in your signature. Eventually someone will click it, and start talking about it.
Getting people talking is part of organic promotion as well. When others are sending your link forward and sharing it with people of common interest, you'll see the value of having relied on social media. That's the real power behind it, the power to send out the ripples that get people to notice you. It starts slowly, but builds up irrevocably. So consider looking into an agency that specializes in maximizing social media, as there may be a lesson they can share that gets you the edge you need.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Roles and Responsibilities of a SAP MM Consultant
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Varsha Vilankar
Here is a guide on how to start a career in SAP Materials Management (MM) Module. Learn how and where to get the training. SAP software in a nutshell is composed of three main functional areas, Financials, Logistics, and Human Capital Management. Under each one of these functional areas there are several sub-modules, which record and compute the day-to-day transactions of an enterprise. The data entered in the system is immediately available to all relevant modules for reporting or for further processing. This level of integration is possible because all modules use the same RDBMS, an ingenious database design known as Relational Database Management System. You might never hear the end of why SAP is so popular, but in my opinion it is because decision makers have the most current reports to take effective decisions for strategic steering of the enterprise. After all it is this value that makes companies invests millions of dollars to use SAP as their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.
My name is Varsha Vilankar and I am writing this article on the request of LearnSAP.com ( a leading and respected SAP training school ) to help individuals understand the roles and responsibilities of a SAP MM configuration consultant. Having worked on several end-to-end projects in a variety of industries I have compiled a checklist, which I believe will be useful to ensure a successful launch of a career in SAP Materials Management module.
SAP Materials Management covers all tasks within the supply chain; including consumption based planning, purchasing, vendor evaluation and invoice verification. It also includes inventory, production planning, and warehouse management.
On job as a configuration consultant you will be expected to perform configuration work as per the blue print document. Usually there are several small and large configuration teams working on different parts of the business process. Everyone on the implementation project is supposed to complete his or her work on a very closely watched timeline. Its very much like a production line, the crew down the line cannot hang the door on the car frame until you put the door together and hand it to them.
I was an ABAPer before I became an SAP MM consultant. ABAP is the proprietary computer programming language, which SAP has developed to write all of its applications in. As a programmer I worked with functional consultants from all modules, but Materials Management always fascinated me the most. So I decided that as a natural progression of my career when it is time, I would work in MM as a techno-functional consultant.
Configuration is fun, all of the nuts and bolts come together in this stage of implementation and things begin to take shape. Stress is in the air and everyone seems to be in hurry and as the launch date draws closer things only get more exciting and challenging.
In an Organizational hierarchy of SAP Implementation, Material management organizational structure includes Plant, Storage location and Purchasing Organization which are created under a Company Code. The organizational level Plant, being the key factor in all of the logistics area. The module has two important master data - material and vendor.
When I can manage some time away from the stress of a project I help LearnSAP.com organize and deliver SAP courses for individuals seeking a career in SAP. I sometimes teach the course as well but most of the time I train the trainers. I helped put together the curriculum and every now and then I keep adding or removing stuff from it to match industry trends. A copy of the curriculum which I believe is a good balance of what you are expected to know, is given here for your reference.
1. Basics
SAP Overview
SAP R/3 Basics
Business Framework Architecture
MM Overview
Organization Structure of an Enterprise
Procurement Process
Purchase Requisition
Purchase Order
Goods Receipt
Invoice Verification
2. MM Procurement Process
Master Data
o Material Master
o Vendor Master
o Purchase info Record
Purchasing
o Purchase Order (PO)
o Purchase Requisition (PR)
o Request for Quotations (RFQ)
Special Stocks and Special Procurement Types
o Stock Items
o Non-Stock/Consumable Items
o One Time Material
o Service Orders, Service Entry Sheet
o Subcontracting
o Stock Transport Order
Source Determination
o Source List
o Source Determination
Release Procedures for Purchasing Documents (with and without classification)
o Creation of Characteristics
o Creation of Class
o Release Groups, Code, Indicator, Pre-requisites
o Release Strategies
3. Inventory Management
Goods Receipt
Goods Issue
Transfer Posting
Reservation
Physical Inventory
4. Invoicing
Invoice Posting
Variances and Blocking Reasons
Release Blocked Invoices
Automatic Settlements - Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS)
5. Valuation and Account Assignment
Material Price Change
Material Valuation Type
Configure Automatic Account Determination
6. Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
Planning Requirements
Over All Procedures
Planning Run
7. Reporting in SAP MM
Reporting at Document Level
Reporting with the Logistics Information System
8. Integration with other modules
Overview of integration of MM with other modules FICO, SD and PP
It is very important that you practice each procedure several times. For this reason the classes are held once a week. The extra time between classes will give you an opportunity to spend some quality time working hands-on with the system. At first you will practice the steps precisely as they are explained to you, while gradually you would try different variations and make a detail note of errors when you encounter them. The objective is that you should be able to recall the solution when you face the same problem on the job. Seniority in a work environment is seldom the person's physical age instead it is how many problems he or she can solve swiftly. In between classes I am available via emails, which I check several times a day. However, before you ask a question make sure it hasn't already been addressed and resolved over the LearnSAP.com discussion forums.
Should you decide to go to another school, you must demand these standards. Keep in mind that the tuition is directly related to the number of students and cost of the instructor. A cheap tuition could be an indication of low quality, either there are too many students or the instructor is in-experienced. Experienced instructors don't come cheap.
Assuming you got quality training the next step will be to make the resume. I got my resume done by a professional writer. Remember resume is a marketing tool and just as you would not risk marketing your awesome invention don't risk your career either. If you cannot afford to hire a professional then browse the software aisle of your local software store for a good resume building software that would guide you through the process.
Last but not least, you should practice the interview process with a professional recruiter who can point out flaws (if any) and suggest remedies. The interview is a carefully engineered process, which is designed to extract an assortment of answers for the employer. Usually each question is designed to gather the breath and depth of your knowledge and experience. Basically, how much you know and how well you know it. There are points for each question and the candidate who gets the most points gets the job.
I haven't forgotten the days when I was searching for a school to help me reach my targets and I can appreciate your anxiety as well. After all changing careers is not an easy task by any standards. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to send them to my attention at info@LearnSAP.com
About the Author:
With a Masters Degree in Computers Varsha Vilankar has been associated with SAP right from the onset of her career in I.T. in 1992. She has worked on several SAP implementation projects and area of expertise lies in manufacturing and utility industry. She is a logistics and ABAP expert who knows the ins and outs of training with both her company and other trainers worldwide. She has authored several course-ware for http://www.LearnSAP.com/
Copyright © 2010 Varsha Vilankar
Here is a guide on how to start a career in SAP Materials Management (MM) Module. Learn how and where to get the training. SAP software in a nutshell is composed of three main functional areas, Financials, Logistics, and Human Capital Management. Under each one of these functional areas there are several sub-modules, which record and compute the day-to-day transactions of an enterprise. The data entered in the system is immediately available to all relevant modules for reporting or for further processing. This level of integration is possible because all modules use the same RDBMS, an ingenious database design known as Relational Database Management System. You might never hear the end of why SAP is so popular, but in my opinion it is because decision makers have the most current reports to take effective decisions for strategic steering of the enterprise. After all it is this value that makes companies invests millions of dollars to use SAP as their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.
My name is Varsha Vilankar and I am writing this article on the request of LearnSAP.com ( a leading and respected SAP training school ) to help individuals understand the roles and responsibilities of a SAP MM configuration consultant. Having worked on several end-to-end projects in a variety of industries I have compiled a checklist, which I believe will be useful to ensure a successful launch of a career in SAP Materials Management module.
SAP Materials Management covers all tasks within the supply chain; including consumption based planning, purchasing, vendor evaluation and invoice verification. It also includes inventory, production planning, and warehouse management.
On job as a configuration consultant you will be expected to perform configuration work as per the blue print document. Usually there are several small and large configuration teams working on different parts of the business process. Everyone on the implementation project is supposed to complete his or her work on a very closely watched timeline. Its very much like a production line, the crew down the line cannot hang the door on the car frame until you put the door together and hand it to them.
I was an ABAPer before I became an SAP MM consultant. ABAP is the proprietary computer programming language, which SAP has developed to write all of its applications in. As a programmer I worked with functional consultants from all modules, but Materials Management always fascinated me the most. So I decided that as a natural progression of my career when it is time, I would work in MM as a techno-functional consultant.
Configuration is fun, all of the nuts and bolts come together in this stage of implementation and things begin to take shape. Stress is in the air and everyone seems to be in hurry and as the launch date draws closer things only get more exciting and challenging.
In an Organizational hierarchy of SAP Implementation, Material management organizational structure includes Plant, Storage location and Purchasing Organization which are created under a Company Code. The organizational level Plant, being the key factor in all of the logistics area. The module has two important master data - material and vendor.
When I can manage some time away from the stress of a project I help LearnSAP.com organize and deliver SAP courses for individuals seeking a career in SAP. I sometimes teach the course as well but most of the time I train the trainers. I helped put together the curriculum and every now and then I keep adding or removing stuff from it to match industry trends. A copy of the curriculum which I believe is a good balance of what you are expected to know, is given here for your reference.
1. Basics
2. MM Procurement Process
o Material Master
o Vendor Master
o Purchase info Record
o Purchase Order (PO)
o Purchase Requisition (PR)
o Request for Quotations (RFQ)
o Stock Items
o Non-Stock/Consumable Items
o One Time Material
o Service Orders, Service Entry Sheet
o Subcontracting
o Stock Transport Order
o Source List
o Source Determination
o Creation of Characteristics
o Creation of Class
o Release Groups, Code, Indicator, Pre-requisites
o Release Strategies
3. Inventory Management
4. Invoicing
5. Valuation and Account Assignment
6. Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
7. Reporting in SAP MM
8. Integration with other modules
It is very important that you practice each procedure several times. For this reason the classes are held once a week. The extra time between classes will give you an opportunity to spend some quality time working hands-on with the system. At first you will practice the steps precisely as they are explained to you, while gradually you would try different variations and make a detail note of errors when you encounter them. The objective is that you should be able to recall the solution when you face the same problem on the job. Seniority in a work environment is seldom the person's physical age instead it is how many problems he or she can solve swiftly. In between classes I am available via emails, which I check several times a day. However, before you ask a question make sure it hasn't already been addressed and resolved over the LearnSAP.com discussion forums.
Should you decide to go to another school, you must demand these standards. Keep in mind that the tuition is directly related to the number of students and cost of the instructor. A cheap tuition could be an indication of low quality, either there are too many students or the instructor is in-experienced. Experienced instructors don't come cheap.
Assuming you got quality training the next step will be to make the resume. I got my resume done by a professional writer. Remember resume is a marketing tool and just as you would not risk marketing your awesome invention don't risk your career either. If you cannot afford to hire a professional then browse the software aisle of your local software store for a good resume building software that would guide you through the process.
Last but not least, you should practice the interview process with a professional recruiter who can point out flaws (if any) and suggest remedies. The interview is a carefully engineered process, which is designed to extract an assortment of answers for the employer. Usually each question is designed to gather the breath and depth of your knowledge and experience. Basically, how much you know and how well you know it. There are points for each question and the candidate who gets the most points gets the job.
I haven't forgotten the days when I was searching for a school to help me reach my targets and I can appreciate your anxiety as well. After all changing careers is not an easy task by any standards. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to send them to my attention at info@LearnSAP.com
About the Author:
With a Masters Degree in Computers Varsha Vilankar has been associated with SAP right from the onset of her career in I.T. in 1992. She has worked on several SAP implementation projects and area of expertise lies in manufacturing and utility industry. She is a logistics and ABAP expert who knows the ins and outs of training with both her company and other trainers worldwide. She has authored several course-ware for http://www.LearnSAP.com/
Delivering Effective Performance Feedback - Simple Steps for Success
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Andria L. Corso
Does anyone really like giving or receiving feedback? Probably not; especially if it is considered constructive feedback. Yet, providing feedback is an essential part of managing performance. You cannot do one without the other so making feedback simple and direct might be one way to ease some of that dislike or discomfort we all feel when participating in feedback discussions. Having a straightforward process to do this is a key to successfully managing your team and your workforce.
The first step to simplify any feedback session is to prepare for the conversation as you would prepare for any meeting. You want allow enough time for the discussion so it is not rushed. Try to conduct the meeting in person if possible; remove distractions and make time to get input from the employee. There are a few other key points to remember as you enter into the meeting with the employee. First, address the behavior, not the person. For example, instead of telling the employee that he/she is unreliable, state that he/she has been late to the last three staff meetings. Next, remember to present facts and examples, such as: "When we compiled our budget numbers for this year, the numbers you gave were unsubstantiated. We agreed that backup data was necessary for all inputs." Also, describe the both the positive and negative impact of the behavior. For example, say something such as: "By not letting us know you have to leave early some times, other people had to stay late and finish," or, "by you stepping in and helping in a jam, you continue to demonstrate great team effort. Several members of the team have expressed their appreciation."
Another key factor to keep in mind is regarding when to give feedback and when not to give it. You want to provide feedback on the accomplishment of a goal, when you notice that performance or behavior is impeding a goal or objective, when actions or behaviors begin impacting work relationships and/or actions or behaviors are impeding an individual's success. Do not give feedback when you or the individual are too emotional or if you are not the most appropriate person to give the feedback (for example, if you notice inappropriate behavior from an employee who reports to someone else, that feedback might have more impact coming from that person's manager).
Now that you have all these tidbits in mind, and are prepared for the feedback discussion, below is model to follow when actually having the conversation.
1. Open
It is best to open a feedback discussion by identifying the purpose of the discussion and what you hope to accomplish. When opening, be prepared with what you want to say that will specifically address the purpose and importance of the situation. In addition, think about what you are hoping to accomplish (for example, are you looking for improvement, change in behavior or is it simply a discussion to provide positive feedback). It is also helpful to consider what the impact of this situation and the discussion will have on the person or team. This may help frame your tone and demeanor. Clearly, if it is a serious situation that has had serious consequences, the tone and demeanor will vary than if it is a situation that has been positive.
2. Discover
The next step in this model is to Discover. This is when you will share information and seek to understand the situation from the employee's perspective. Think of this step as the "question" step. Ask questions about the particular situation and find out exactly what the employee did and why he/she made the decisions that he/she did. Again, you want to be thinking about what outcome you are trying to achieve and also put yourself in the employee's shoes and consider what he/she might be concerned about.
3. Develop and Plan
The next step in this model is to develop and plan.
First you want to develop ideas for improvement with the employee. Seek out ideas from the employee and ask what he/she thinks is needed to be successful. Then share your own ideas. Ask what support the employee needs and ask yourself what support you can provide. You will then want to plan for action. This is when you discuss the specific steps and actions that will be taken to improve and reach the desired state. What steps need to be taken? Be sure they are realistic and challenging but not unattainable. Ask what support the employee needs and be open to providing that support. Remember, you ultimately want improvement so getting the employee on board with the plan for improvement is a vital step towards success.
4. Remove Barriers
The next step is to remove barriers. As you discuss the plan for action and what resources are needed, obstacles to success may come up. If they do not, then you need to seek this out and find out from the employee what he or she believes will prevent improvement or success. Ask questions such as "what roadblocks might you encounter?" and "how can I help support you in removing them or getting around them?"
5. Recap
The final step is to recap the discussion to ensure buy-in and that the employee understands the expectations. You want to be sure the employee leaves the meeting feeling confident and believing in his or her ability to be successful. Ask the employee what he or she is taking away from the discussion and what the first step in the action plan will be. Set up a follow up meeting and make yourself available for continued support.
Following this feedback delivery model as well as ensuring you are prepared for the discussion and providing the feedback at the appropriate time can and will make the process more simple. Having a more simple feedback delivery process and model will most certainly assist in your ability to successfully manage your team and your workforce.
About the Author:
Andria Corso is an Executive Coach and Human Resources leader who works with clients to develop leadership skills and talent strategies that align with business strategy and drive results. She is the principal owner of C3-Corso Coaching and Consulting, a premier executive coaching and strategic HR consulting firm specializing in the design of customized coaching and performance excellence programs for companies looking to increase employee engagement and deliver outstanding results. For a free report on the Top 3 HR Programs Every Growing Business Must Have to Succeed, click HERE or visit http://www.andriacorso.com for more information on how C3 can help you or your company.
Read more of Andria L. Corso's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Andria L. Corso
Does anyone really like giving or receiving feedback? Probably not; especially if it is considered constructive feedback. Yet, providing feedback is an essential part of managing performance. You cannot do one without the other so making feedback simple and direct might be one way to ease some of that dislike or discomfort we all feel when participating in feedback discussions. Having a straightforward process to do this is a key to successfully managing your team and your workforce.
The first step to simplify any feedback session is to prepare for the conversation as you would prepare for any meeting. You want allow enough time for the discussion so it is not rushed. Try to conduct the meeting in person if possible; remove distractions and make time to get input from the employee. There are a few other key points to remember as you enter into the meeting with the employee. First, address the behavior, not the person. For example, instead of telling the employee that he/she is unreliable, state that he/she has been late to the last three staff meetings. Next, remember to present facts and examples, such as: "When we compiled our budget numbers for this year, the numbers you gave were unsubstantiated. We agreed that backup data was necessary for all inputs." Also, describe the both the positive and negative impact of the behavior. For example, say something such as: "By not letting us know you have to leave early some times, other people had to stay late and finish," or, "by you stepping in and helping in a jam, you continue to demonstrate great team effort. Several members of the team have expressed their appreciation."
Another key factor to keep in mind is regarding when to give feedback and when not to give it. You want to provide feedback on the accomplishment of a goal, when you notice that performance or behavior is impeding a goal or objective, when actions or behaviors begin impacting work relationships and/or actions or behaviors are impeding an individual's success. Do not give feedback when you or the individual are too emotional or if you are not the most appropriate person to give the feedback (for example, if you notice inappropriate behavior from an employee who reports to someone else, that feedback might have more impact coming from that person's manager).
Now that you have all these tidbits in mind, and are prepared for the feedback discussion, below is model to follow when actually having the conversation.
1. Open
It is best to open a feedback discussion by identifying the purpose of the discussion and what you hope to accomplish. When opening, be prepared with what you want to say that will specifically address the purpose and importance of the situation. In addition, think about what you are hoping to accomplish (for example, are you looking for improvement, change in behavior or is it simply a discussion to provide positive feedback). It is also helpful to consider what the impact of this situation and the discussion will have on the person or team. This may help frame your tone and demeanor. Clearly, if it is a serious situation that has had serious consequences, the tone and demeanor will vary than if it is a situation that has been positive.
2. Discover
The next step in this model is to Discover. This is when you will share information and seek to understand the situation from the employee's perspective. Think of this step as the "question" step. Ask questions about the particular situation and find out exactly what the employee did and why he/she made the decisions that he/she did. Again, you want to be thinking about what outcome you are trying to achieve and also put yourself in the employee's shoes and consider what he/she might be concerned about.
3. Develop and Plan
The next step in this model is to develop and plan.
First you want to develop ideas for improvement with the employee. Seek out ideas from the employee and ask what he/she thinks is needed to be successful. Then share your own ideas. Ask what support the employee needs and ask yourself what support you can provide. You will then want to plan for action. This is when you discuss the specific steps and actions that will be taken to improve and reach the desired state. What steps need to be taken? Be sure they are realistic and challenging but not unattainable. Ask what support the employee needs and be open to providing that support. Remember, you ultimately want improvement so getting the employee on board with the plan for improvement is a vital step towards success.
4. Remove Barriers
The next step is to remove barriers. As you discuss the plan for action and what resources are needed, obstacles to success may come up. If they do not, then you need to seek this out and find out from the employee what he or she believes will prevent improvement or success. Ask questions such as "what roadblocks might you encounter?" and "how can I help support you in removing them or getting around them?"
5. Recap
The final step is to recap the discussion to ensure buy-in and that the employee understands the expectations. You want to be sure the employee leaves the meeting feeling confident and believing in his or her ability to be successful. Ask the employee what he or she is taking away from the discussion and what the first step in the action plan will be. Set up a follow up meeting and make yourself available for continued support.
Following this feedback delivery model as well as ensuring you are prepared for the discussion and providing the feedback at the appropriate time can and will make the process more simple. Having a more simple feedback delivery process and model will most certainly assist in your ability to successfully manage your team and your workforce.
About the Author:
Andria Corso is an Executive Coach and Human Resources leader who works with clients to develop leadership skills and talent strategies that align with business strategy and drive results. She is the principal owner of C3-Corso Coaching and Consulting, a premier executive coaching and strategic HR consulting firm specializing in the design of customized coaching and performance excellence programs for companies looking to increase employee engagement and deliver outstanding results. For a free report on the Top 3 HR Programs Every Growing Business Must Have to Succeed, click HERE or visit http://www.andriacorso.com for more information on how C3 can help you or your company.
Read more of Andria L. Corso's articles.
Increasing ROI by Improving Business Sustainability in a Cash-Strapped Economy
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Thayne Carper
During times of economic uncertainty and staggering consumer confidence levels, companies seek alternative measures to increase business sustainability. Businesses incur additional costs to cover operational expenses; however, companies unintentionally waste their revenue on excess supplies and inefficient policies. Sustainable businesses generate additional revenue through targeting environmentally conscious customers, and reducing consumption, reusing materials, and disposing of waste responsibly.
The State of Garbage
Business sustainability counteracts the materialistic nature of modern societies that creates an addiction to garbage and waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States department dedicated to municipal waste (MSW) management, businesses generate 45 percent of the total waste in the country. According to data taken from the "State of Garbage in America" survey in 2006, the country generates 413,014,732 tons of garbage per year; however, only 35.5 percent (146,601,768 tons) of the waste is recycled or reused. The remaining 64.5 percent (146, 601,768 tons) can be found in one of 1,800 landfills nationwide, which defeats business sustainability efforts.
Waste in Relation to Business Sustainability
In order to build business sustainability one must plan and allocate resources according to current needs. The type of waste businesses produce depends upon the industry; however, common categories include paper products, electronics and machinery, hazardous waste, non-renewable energy, as well as expired products. According to the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, office workers use 10,000 sheets of paper per year; however, only 66 percent of office paper is recycled and reused. It is pertinent to utilize recycled products within the business to increase resource efficiency.
While recycling rates remain steady for paper products, business sustainability struggles to control electronic waste (otherwise known as eWaste). With the rapid development and innovation of computers, printers, and other office machinery, businesses are constantly replacing outdated, slow, or broken equipment. Due to the chemical composition of the equipment, the items cannot be placed into landfills and require special handling to correctly dispose of the parts. Electronics are by nature nonrenewable investments; however, there are methods by which companies can recycle them.
Managing Business Waste
In an effort to increase business sustainability, businesses utilize a variety of techniques, including source reduction, recycling, composting, waste to energy incineration, and landfills. Most businesses attempt to recycle their materials; however, it requires internal and municipal coordination, which adds administrative costs, and diminishes savings. Businesses can offset the cost and improve sustainability efforts by using recycled products within their organization, such as printer paper.
Internal sustainability efforts are complemented by municipal services, who compost or incinerate materials to offset the expanding landfills. Current business sustainability efforts are band-aids to larger problems. Source reduction prevents waste from entering the ecosystem by reducing the number of resources businesses utilize. Source reduction enables businesses to increase sustainability by changing internal manufacturing and purchasing policies.
Increasing ROI Through Source Reduction
The costs to administer aggressive source reduction campaigns are offset by the long-term savings on operational expenses. Source reduction is based on the principle of a zero-waste ecosystem in which businesses use every resource that is purchased. Companies spend billions of dollars each year on products that are not used, expired, diminished, stolen, or liquidated. Every manufactured good has a set shelf life, including ink cartridges, pens, and paper. Additionally, discarding empty printer cartridges and broken electronics creates unnecessary hazardous waste. Cost reduction and business sustainability initiatives counteract these issues by obtaining extended warranties for electronics and utilizing printer cartridge refill services.
Reducing Waste in the Workplace
Cost reduction indicates most businesses spend large sums of money to buy office supplies in bulk. It is estimated that businesses waste one-third of these goods due to expiration or loss, which defeats any bulk discounts one would receive from vendors. Additionally, the supplies take up valuable warehouse space that could otherwise be reallocated. To effectively reduce waste, analyze company purchasing policies and contracts, noting areas of concern. Exceptions apply to these policies, as vendor agreements vary depending on their business sustainability practices.
Review company financial records, inventory databases, and purchase orders to determine the amount and rate of materials consumption. Monitor print and copy logs to verify the average number of pages printed per month and adjust toner and paper orders to reflect usage. Toner cartridges provide an estimated number of copies it can produce. When developing waste reduction plans, inventory the warehouse and sort them based on expiration date, using the oldest supplies first.
Implement Waste Reduction Programs
Cost reduction programs are key to increasing ROI and business sustainability. While every employee will not "go green" willingly, everyone is motivated by "the other" green - revenue. Form a committee at the corporate level and develop a sustainability plan, outlining goals and objectives of the operation while creating deadlines for major milestones. Once a basic plan is established, create a task force at the employee level, appointing two executives as the project managers.
The executive committee oversees the task force and communicates with the project managers, who work directly with business sustainability strategists. The task force will develop a mission statement that is aligned with corporate figures and creates a program outline that addresses the various goals and objectives. Task force members actively survey all of the waste generated by the company. By highlighting the problem employees realize the economic and environmental impact of the waste.
Through aggressive internal ad campaigns and memoranda the entire company will become aware of these issues. Business sustainability and cost reduction efforts increase profitability while positioning the organization as environmentally friendly.
About the Author:
Download your free report "The Definitive Guide to Doubling Your Profits in less than 6 Months" which reveals simple methods and techniques that can lower supply and service costs up to 27% without paying tens of thousands of dollars or hiring a consultant. Learn how to lower supply costs up to 30% at Thayne Carper's website: http://www.ThayneCarper.com/
Read more of Thayne Carper's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Thayne Carper
During times of economic uncertainty and staggering consumer confidence levels, companies seek alternative measures to increase business sustainability. Businesses incur additional costs to cover operational expenses; however, companies unintentionally waste their revenue on excess supplies and inefficient policies. Sustainable businesses generate additional revenue through targeting environmentally conscious customers, and reducing consumption, reusing materials, and disposing of waste responsibly.
The State of Garbage
Business sustainability counteracts the materialistic nature of modern societies that creates an addiction to garbage and waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States department dedicated to municipal waste (MSW) management, businesses generate 45 percent of the total waste in the country. According to data taken from the "State of Garbage in America" survey in 2006, the country generates 413,014,732 tons of garbage per year; however, only 35.5 percent (146,601,768 tons) of the waste is recycled or reused. The remaining 64.5 percent (146, 601,768 tons) can be found in one of 1,800 landfills nationwide, which defeats business sustainability efforts.
Waste in Relation to Business Sustainability
In order to build business sustainability one must plan and allocate resources according to current needs. The type of waste businesses produce depends upon the industry; however, common categories include paper products, electronics and machinery, hazardous waste, non-renewable energy, as well as expired products. According to the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, office workers use 10,000 sheets of paper per year; however, only 66 percent of office paper is recycled and reused. It is pertinent to utilize recycled products within the business to increase resource efficiency.
While recycling rates remain steady for paper products, business sustainability struggles to control electronic waste (otherwise known as eWaste). With the rapid development and innovation of computers, printers, and other office machinery, businesses are constantly replacing outdated, slow, or broken equipment. Due to the chemical composition of the equipment, the items cannot be placed into landfills and require special handling to correctly dispose of the parts. Electronics are by nature nonrenewable investments; however, there are methods by which companies can recycle them.
Managing Business Waste
In an effort to increase business sustainability, businesses utilize a variety of techniques, including source reduction, recycling, composting, waste to energy incineration, and landfills. Most businesses attempt to recycle their materials; however, it requires internal and municipal coordination, which adds administrative costs, and diminishes savings. Businesses can offset the cost and improve sustainability efforts by using recycled products within their organization, such as printer paper.
Internal sustainability efforts are complemented by municipal services, who compost or incinerate materials to offset the expanding landfills. Current business sustainability efforts are band-aids to larger problems. Source reduction prevents waste from entering the ecosystem by reducing the number of resources businesses utilize. Source reduction enables businesses to increase sustainability by changing internal manufacturing and purchasing policies.
Increasing ROI Through Source Reduction
The costs to administer aggressive source reduction campaigns are offset by the long-term savings on operational expenses. Source reduction is based on the principle of a zero-waste ecosystem in which businesses use every resource that is purchased. Companies spend billions of dollars each year on products that are not used, expired, diminished, stolen, or liquidated. Every manufactured good has a set shelf life, including ink cartridges, pens, and paper. Additionally, discarding empty printer cartridges and broken electronics creates unnecessary hazardous waste. Cost reduction and business sustainability initiatives counteract these issues by obtaining extended warranties for electronics and utilizing printer cartridge refill services.
Reducing Waste in the Workplace
Cost reduction indicates most businesses spend large sums of money to buy office supplies in bulk. It is estimated that businesses waste one-third of these goods due to expiration or loss, which defeats any bulk discounts one would receive from vendors. Additionally, the supplies take up valuable warehouse space that could otherwise be reallocated. To effectively reduce waste, analyze company purchasing policies and contracts, noting areas of concern. Exceptions apply to these policies, as vendor agreements vary depending on their business sustainability practices.
Review company financial records, inventory databases, and purchase orders to determine the amount and rate of materials consumption. Monitor print and copy logs to verify the average number of pages printed per month and adjust toner and paper orders to reflect usage. Toner cartridges provide an estimated number of copies it can produce. When developing waste reduction plans, inventory the warehouse and sort them based on expiration date, using the oldest supplies first.
Implement Waste Reduction Programs
Cost reduction programs are key to increasing ROI and business sustainability. While every employee will not "go green" willingly, everyone is motivated by "the other" green - revenue. Form a committee at the corporate level and develop a sustainability plan, outlining goals and objectives of the operation while creating deadlines for major milestones. Once a basic plan is established, create a task force at the employee level, appointing two executives as the project managers.
The executive committee oversees the task force and communicates with the project managers, who work directly with business sustainability strategists. The task force will develop a mission statement that is aligned with corporate figures and creates a program outline that addresses the various goals and objectives. Task force members actively survey all of the waste generated by the company. By highlighting the problem employees realize the economic and environmental impact of the waste.
Through aggressive internal ad campaigns and memoranda the entire company will become aware of these issues. Business sustainability and cost reduction efforts increase profitability while positioning the organization as environmentally friendly.
About the Author:
Download your free report "The Definitive Guide to Doubling Your Profits in less than 6 Months" which reveals simple methods and techniques that can lower supply and service costs up to 27% without paying tens of thousands of dollars or hiring a consultant. Learn how to lower supply costs up to 30% at Thayne Carper's website: http://www.ThayneCarper.com/
Read more of Thayne Carper's articles.
The Problem With Business Planning
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater
If you go to a conventional business seminar, you are going to get the following advice:
Write a business plan Do a swot analysis A competitor analysis etc. etc.
And I can see why so many people are held back from starting a business.
But I have another approach. A simper approach. An approach which will tell you whether it's actually worth writing that damn plan.
And that approach is...
JUST WRITE A FRICKIN AD
What do I mean by that?
Well, let's say you go to China or get this amazing idea for a product.
You could spend a month writing a business plan, coming up with statistics on how many you are going to sell, financial forecasting your future, etc.
But none of that means anything unless THE AD WORKS.
Or the sales letter. Or the web site. Or the flyer.
Truth is, if nobody wants what you are selling then the business plan isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
And none of your forecasts will come true.
But if you write that ad... the phone rings... and the orders come flowing through...then you know you are onto a winning formula.
... because you can run that ad all over town.
If it works in an Adelaide newspaper... it will probably work in a Sydney newspaper... a Melbourne newspaper, etc.
And by the same token if it works in a suburban newspaper it will probably work in other suburban newspapers.
But without the ad... without knowing if it sells... you certainly don't have a business.
So my advice is if you've got a new idea...
Risk as little as possible to get your hands on a small amount of the product you want to sell.
Write an ad and see if people want what you have to sell.
But make sure you write it the right way. Because just like a bad salesperson cannot sell much, neither will a bad advertisement.
About the Author:
As a direct response copywriter, Scott Bywater strives to educate business owners on how to generate more leads, get more of the "right type" of customers, differentiate themselves from their competition, and convert their leads into sales via his underground and "outside of the box" strategies. You can get his copywriting and marketing tips delivered to your inbox via his eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater
If you go to a conventional business seminar, you are going to get the following advice:
Write a business plan Do a swot analysis A competitor analysis etc. etc.
And I can see why so many people are held back from starting a business.
But I have another approach. A simper approach. An approach which will tell you whether it's actually worth writing that damn plan.
And that approach is...
JUST WRITE A FRICKIN AD
What do I mean by that?
Well, let's say you go to China or get this amazing idea for a product.
You could spend a month writing a business plan, coming up with statistics on how many you are going to sell, financial forecasting your future, etc.
But none of that means anything unless THE AD WORKS.
Or the sales letter. Or the web site. Or the flyer.
Truth is, if nobody wants what you are selling then the business plan isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
And none of your forecasts will come true.
But if you write that ad... the phone rings... and the orders come flowing through...then you know you are onto a winning formula.
... because you can run that ad all over town.
If it works in an Adelaide newspaper... it will probably work in a Sydney newspaper... a Melbourne newspaper, etc.
And by the same token if it works in a suburban newspaper it will probably work in other suburban newspapers.
But without the ad... without knowing if it sells... you certainly don't have a business.
So my advice is if you've got a new idea...
Risk as little as possible to get your hands on a small amount of the product you want to sell.
Write an ad and see if people want what you have to sell.
But make sure you write it the right way. Because just like a bad salesperson cannot sell much, neither will a bad advertisement.
About the Author:
As a direct response copywriter, Scott Bywater strives to educate business owners on how to generate more leads, get more of the "right type" of customers, differentiate themselves from their competition, and convert their leads into sales via his underground and "outside of the box" strategies. You can get his copywriting and marketing tips delivered to your inbox via his eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Business Turnaround: Locate and Isolate the Root Causes of Your Company's Problems
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Thayne Carper
When seeking business turnaround, one of the first things you need to do is to determine the root causes of your economic woes. Your company may have financial problems for a plethora of reasons, which your business turnaround plan will have to consider.
Sales may be down because a new competitor has entered the market or there is an economic downturn that is preventing your customers from being able to afford your goods. Research may show that your company has too much inventory - perhaps you made some unwise decisions and increased your costs far more than your profits would allow. Maybe your profit margins have declined whereas your fixed costs remain stable. There are an endless number of reasons why your company has financial problems, and you must discover the root cause or else there will be no significant business turnaround.
The Value of Comparative Analysis
To discover the root cause of your company's problems, you should first try to isolate the cause or causes by a comparative financial analysis, which is often important for business turnarounds. With such an analysis, you will be able to compare other companies to yours.
In seeking a business turnaround, a good owner will look at websites such as http://www.bizstats.com and look at how other companies, including competitors, are doing. Sites like this allow the users to easily navigate through a great deal of relevant information about similar companies, so that a business owner can see which companies are doing well and which are not. If other companies in your industry are doing poorly, then the issue may have something to do with your industry itself. In that case, you will have to figure out how to bypass the issue and differentiate yourself from your competition so that your company can stand out.
Consider Outside Help
It is also possible that the comparative financial analysis will show your company is doing poorly compared to others, and thus the problems are specific to your firm. As a company owner seeking a positive business turnaround, you must then look to your own company and conduct your own investigation as to what the problem is. You may want to consider hiring outside consultants or other groups to help establish the root cause of your firm's problems.
Such organizations exist for this very reason - they want to ensure that companies such as yours are working in optimal conditions and as efficiently as possible. Business turnarounds often result from outside help, as these third parties can investigate your firm, its staff, your products, and uncover the reason for your financial troubles.
Get Personally Involved
Finally, a good business turnaround plan depends on a proactive and intelligent owner. You cannot only depend on comparative financial analyses and outside consultants - you must take matters into your own hands and investigate the problem yourself. Proactively research other businesses, investigate your own employees, monitor and analyze financial reports, and determine why the market is not responding to your product.
While a company owner understandably has to allocate certain tasks to his employees or other parties, this is a situation where you also have to be more involved in your company than before, at least until the root causes of your issues are uncovered.
About the Author:
Thayne Carper spent 4 years of college competing in student business plan competitions. He's never won a business plan competition and was dropped from his college's entrepreneurial program for lacking potential. Today, he is one of the youngest published experts on the topic of business turnarounds and cost reduction. Visit his website lower supply costs up to 30% for a copy of his report "The Definitive Guide to Doubling Your Profits in less than 6 Months" and learn how you can easily lower supply and service costs up to 30% without hiring a consultant. Learn more: http://www.ThayneCarper.com/
Read more of Thayne Carper's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Thayne Carper
When seeking business turnaround, one of the first things you need to do is to determine the root causes of your economic woes. Your company may have financial problems for a plethora of reasons, which your business turnaround plan will have to consider.
Sales may be down because a new competitor has entered the market or there is an economic downturn that is preventing your customers from being able to afford your goods. Research may show that your company has too much inventory - perhaps you made some unwise decisions and increased your costs far more than your profits would allow. Maybe your profit margins have declined whereas your fixed costs remain stable. There are an endless number of reasons why your company has financial problems, and you must discover the root cause or else there will be no significant business turnaround.
The Value of Comparative Analysis
To discover the root cause of your company's problems, you should first try to isolate the cause or causes by a comparative financial analysis, which is often important for business turnarounds. With such an analysis, you will be able to compare other companies to yours.
In seeking a business turnaround, a good owner will look at websites such as http://www.bizstats.com and look at how other companies, including competitors, are doing. Sites like this allow the users to easily navigate through a great deal of relevant information about similar companies, so that a business owner can see which companies are doing well and which are not. If other companies in your industry are doing poorly, then the issue may have something to do with your industry itself. In that case, you will have to figure out how to bypass the issue and differentiate yourself from your competition so that your company can stand out.
Consider Outside Help
It is also possible that the comparative financial analysis will show your company is doing poorly compared to others, and thus the problems are specific to your firm. As a company owner seeking a positive business turnaround, you must then look to your own company and conduct your own investigation as to what the problem is. You may want to consider hiring outside consultants or other groups to help establish the root cause of your firm's problems.
Such organizations exist for this very reason - they want to ensure that companies such as yours are working in optimal conditions and as efficiently as possible. Business turnarounds often result from outside help, as these third parties can investigate your firm, its staff, your products, and uncover the reason for your financial troubles.
Get Personally Involved
Finally, a good business turnaround plan depends on a proactive and intelligent owner. You cannot only depend on comparative financial analyses and outside consultants - you must take matters into your own hands and investigate the problem yourself. Proactively research other businesses, investigate your own employees, monitor and analyze financial reports, and determine why the market is not responding to your product.
While a company owner understandably has to allocate certain tasks to his employees or other parties, this is a situation where you also have to be more involved in your company than before, at least until the root causes of your issues are uncovered.
About the Author:
Thayne Carper spent 4 years of college competing in student business plan competitions. He's never won a business plan competition and was dropped from his college's entrepreneurial program for lacking potential. Today, he is one of the youngest published experts on the topic of business turnarounds and cost reduction. Visit his website lower supply costs up to 30% for a copy of his report "The Definitive Guide to Doubling Your Profits in less than 6 Months" and learn how you can easily lower supply and service costs up to 30% without hiring a consultant. Learn more: http://www.ThayneCarper.com/
Read more of Thayne Carper's articles.
Brand Management - Four Options for Focusing Your Newsletter
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Recently, our blog took a look at the basics of newsletter writing. We covered some material that we've stressed time and time again: make sure the content is well written, pay attention to presentation, and tie it into the brand without going by rote. This is part of our message that quality always matters, and that every venture put forward should return to the same basic principles. Building on these lessons, this article highlights specific ways that a newsletter can be turned from a seemingly redundant tangent into a valuable marketing tool that speaks for itself while supporting the organization's core mission.
The basic function of the newsletter is of course to be informative. Information needs to reach a large number of people, and a newsletter is a great way of making sure people are on the same page. Yes, in theory an email can be CC'd and BCC'd to everyone on the relevant lists, but there is something psychologically distinctive about the release of a physical publication for wide review. The trick then is to make sure the information contained in the letter goes beyond the basics and into actually targeting its audience.
In short, a newsletter has to take advantage of its role as a distinct and noteworthy publication in order to create a greater sense of identity for the organization as a whole.
Option #1 - Editorialize
As we mentioned, email has effectively replaced hardcopy for general communications. It takes up less space, doesn't create mountains of trash unless you count the spam folder, and is exponentially more efficient. With general communication taken care of, the newsletter now has room for broader subjects such as opinion and editorial.
This option can be particularly interesting for businesses with extensive connections, such as financial institutions or delivery services. Articles of this stripe can revolve around goings-on in general, or discussing the results of the latest big initiative. Upper level managers can explain some of the reasoning behind specific decisions, while frontline workers might get a chance to explain the impact a particular policy has had on work efficiency.
Of course, all editorial runs the same risk as any opinion-based piece of writing. Make sure to keep within company guidelines and civil behavior. After all, the goal is to increase company identity, not foster company conflict.
Option # 2 - Have a Laugh
Business communications frequently tend to be sterile and reserved, especially in larger organizations. Some of the most frustrating moments working for big companies stem from a perceived lack of identity. Humor is an excellent way to help break down this disconnect between work and workers. For internal company newsletters, knowing that the boss is good for a laugh now and again can help ease tensions, or promote greater cooperation between coworkers.
Predominantly this approach requires keeping the humor topical. A call center for example might host a contest for the strangest call received and list the winning story in the newsletter. A certain widespread fast food corporation might run a bit of satire complaining about the fact that they haven't achieved complete control of the market. In either case the humor is derived from familiarity with the company, and helps foster a good-natured approach to the job.
Option #3 - Reflect and Review
As mentioned, one of the strongest merits of the newsletter format is its distinctiveness. With more people focusing on email, receiving a newsletter almost always causes at least a moment of attention, if only to ask what it is. Take advantage of this by using the newsletter as a way to call people to review past accomplishments and current goals, and release it at times that the company warrants such a review. This will help associate the newsletter with a distinct purpose, and when it arrives people will know it's time to put on their thinking caps.
Option #4 - Fabulous Prizes
This may sound dubious, but it remains a viable option. People like contests and prizes, and if there's something to be won in the newsletter they're more likely to read it. For example a company newsletter could include free raffle tickets to the next big sporting event. More people are likely to respnd if they figure they can win a prize. Pick an incentive that you know is appropriate to your group, and put it in the newsletter to keep interest high.
The key here is to avoid making it a gimmick. Advertise the contest clearly, but resist the urge to splatter it across the front page in bright fonts. Use good humor and reserve, and let people get as excited as they wish.
Afterthoughts
A hardcopy newsletter is not always appropriate. Email frequently suffices, and in many cases company newsletters have shifted to email delivery. When you evaluate your organization's newsletter, whether one you already have or one you intend to start, ask yourself what specific purpose it would serve. Newsletters can help any organization or business stay top of mind and open communication lines.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Recently, our blog took a look at the basics of newsletter writing. We covered some material that we've stressed time and time again: make sure the content is well written, pay attention to presentation, and tie it into the brand without going by rote. This is part of our message that quality always matters, and that every venture put forward should return to the same basic principles. Building on these lessons, this article highlights specific ways that a newsletter can be turned from a seemingly redundant tangent into a valuable marketing tool that speaks for itself while supporting the organization's core mission.
The basic function of the newsletter is of course to be informative. Information needs to reach a large number of people, and a newsletter is a great way of making sure people are on the same page. Yes, in theory an email can be CC'd and BCC'd to everyone on the relevant lists, but there is something psychologically distinctive about the release of a physical publication for wide review. The trick then is to make sure the information contained in the letter goes beyond the basics and into actually targeting its audience.
In short, a newsletter has to take advantage of its role as a distinct and noteworthy publication in order to create a greater sense of identity for the organization as a whole.
Option #1 - Editorialize
As we mentioned, email has effectively replaced hardcopy for general communications. It takes up less space, doesn't create mountains of trash unless you count the spam folder, and is exponentially more efficient. With general communication taken care of, the newsletter now has room for broader subjects such as opinion and editorial.
This option can be particularly interesting for businesses with extensive connections, such as financial institutions or delivery services. Articles of this stripe can revolve around goings-on in general, or discussing the results of the latest big initiative. Upper level managers can explain some of the reasoning behind specific decisions, while frontline workers might get a chance to explain the impact a particular policy has had on work efficiency.
Of course, all editorial runs the same risk as any opinion-based piece of writing. Make sure to keep within company guidelines and civil behavior. After all, the goal is to increase company identity, not foster company conflict.
Option # 2 - Have a Laugh
Business communications frequently tend to be sterile and reserved, especially in larger organizations. Some of the most frustrating moments working for big companies stem from a perceived lack of identity. Humor is an excellent way to help break down this disconnect between work and workers. For internal company newsletters, knowing that the boss is good for a laugh now and again can help ease tensions, or promote greater cooperation between coworkers.
Predominantly this approach requires keeping the humor topical. A call center for example might host a contest for the strangest call received and list the winning story in the newsletter. A certain widespread fast food corporation might run a bit of satire complaining about the fact that they haven't achieved complete control of the market. In either case the humor is derived from familiarity with the company, and helps foster a good-natured approach to the job.
Option #3 - Reflect and Review
As mentioned, one of the strongest merits of the newsletter format is its distinctiveness. With more people focusing on email, receiving a newsletter almost always causes at least a moment of attention, if only to ask what it is. Take advantage of this by using the newsletter as a way to call people to review past accomplishments and current goals, and release it at times that the company warrants such a review. This will help associate the newsletter with a distinct purpose, and when it arrives people will know it's time to put on their thinking caps.
Option #4 - Fabulous Prizes
This may sound dubious, but it remains a viable option. People like contests and prizes, and if there's something to be won in the newsletter they're more likely to read it. For example a company newsletter could include free raffle tickets to the next big sporting event. More people are likely to respnd if they figure they can win a prize. Pick an incentive that you know is appropriate to your group, and put it in the newsletter to keep interest high.
The key here is to avoid making it a gimmick. Advertise the contest clearly, but resist the urge to splatter it across the front page in bright fonts. Use good humor and reserve, and let people get as excited as they wish.
Afterthoughts
A hardcopy newsletter is not always appropriate. Email frequently suffices, and in many cases company newsletters have shifted to email delivery. When you evaluate your organization's newsletter, whether one you already have or one you intend to start, ask yourself what specific purpose it would serve. Newsletters can help any organization or business stay top of mind and open communication lines.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Building Brand Identity - Marketing With Twitter
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Twitter, the net's networking success story, is intriguing and intimidating because of its message limitations: they can be 140 characters, and no more.
This is to say; each message sent on Twitter can be no larger than the previous sentence. Not an additional letter, space, period or dash can be added. These limitations have proven to be the greatest asset and the greatest challenge for people trying to use Twitter for any number of purposes.
On the advantageous side, the short messages have created an entire culture of Twitter-fluent writers. The brevity of the message stretches creative muscles, making people use every trick to get the most information into the fewest characters. On the other hand it creates a severe headache for the marketing minded, as it doesn't leave much room to present a case. Thus the vast majority of Tweets are short little social comments or updates, and most marketing revolves around calling attention to particular links.
Of course, there are always ways around limitations, and Twitter is something that every seriously market-minded organization needs to embrace in order to see continued success on the web. In the case of short message services like Twitter, the key lies as much in the peripheral data that builds up around the message as in the content itself.
Be SEO Minded
Twitter profiles are now ranked by search engines, Google in particular. Every SEO technique you've learned now has a new, exciting purpose.
For example, consider the biography you're able to construct using Twitter. This is a ripe opportunity to develop some brand recognition right away. Put the title of the brand you're marketing in the bio, and consider including the most relevant keywords in your profile. As ever, do so in a way that respects the user's intelligence, and gives them something worth reading. Simply stringing together a chain of keywords is not the way to go.
Include keywords in your Tweets as well, taking care not to be terribly obvious about it. The first 20-30 characters are the best place, as later words are of decreased importance in a Google ranking search.
Identify Your Audience
Each brand rises and falls on the whim of the audience, known in this case as tweeple.
There are a number of applications available to help you with the process of identifying the tweeple that you want to cultivate into an audience. Twitterholic can help you identify the movers and shakers based on their Twitter traffic and their location. If you know your field or brand well, you can use this to locate groups with similar interests and woo them to your feed. Tweepz is a similar tool, focusing on location, and Twitter itself has a 'near this location' feature that can be used to identify tweeple nearby your center of business.
Let's Give Them Something to Tweet About
Yes, Twitter is an effective way to quickly distribute information. But its real power is in its ability to create conversations about something interesting.
In theory you could simply gather up a large user list of tweeple and start spamming them with links promoting your latest gig. This is a surefire way to get flagged for abuse or ignored entirely, and thus is rather counterproductive to good marketing goals.
Instead, consider using alternative methods to drum up those conversations that travel like wildfire.
For example, there is the technique of Alternate Reality Gaming. This is a phenomenon based on the idea of taking 'real' events and building a game out of them. Last Call Poker was an ARG that intended to drum up sales for an upcoming video game, GUN.
LCP spread out information about gatherings, online incentives, and other attractions to get people excited about the western theme of the game. Tokens such as poker chips and other goodies were given out at these events, and GUN went on to have a very successful launch. People were invited into the world of the western, and the chatter eventually included 8 million participants.
This kind of rogue advertising is tailor-made to work with Twitter. Locations and dates can easily fall within the 140 character limitation, as can short explanations. Consider creating an ARG with a short story designed to work within 140 characters, locate an audience with the assorted Twitter tools at your disposal, and plan some exciting events to promote your brand. The chance to get involved always gets people talking, and the more esoteric games can span entire continents.
There are other methods, some more appropriate to each individual brand. Perhaps a modest bicycling business isn't suited to promote a large ARG experience. They could, however, organize a bicycling flash mob by hopping onto the local bike hobbyist twitter feed and posting a date and time. The trick is less which technique you use, and more that you do your best to make it relevant. As always, strong content and clear presentation will win out over gimmicks and sales speak.
Also, consider one last thought. The introductory statements of each section in this article are Twitter compatible, and so is this one. Good luck and happy Tweeting.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Twitter, the net's networking success story, is intriguing and intimidating because of its message limitations: they can be 140 characters, and no more.
This is to say; each message sent on Twitter can be no larger than the previous sentence. Not an additional letter, space, period or dash can be added. These limitations have proven to be the greatest asset and the greatest challenge for people trying to use Twitter for any number of purposes.
On the advantageous side, the short messages have created an entire culture of Twitter-fluent writers. The brevity of the message stretches creative muscles, making people use every trick to get the most information into the fewest characters. On the other hand it creates a severe headache for the marketing minded, as it doesn't leave much room to present a case. Thus the vast majority of Tweets are short little social comments or updates, and most marketing revolves around calling attention to particular links.
Of course, there are always ways around limitations, and Twitter is something that every seriously market-minded organization needs to embrace in order to see continued success on the web. In the case of short message services like Twitter, the key lies as much in the peripheral data that builds up around the message as in the content itself.
Be SEO Minded
Twitter profiles are now ranked by search engines, Google in particular. Every SEO technique you've learned now has a new, exciting purpose.
For example, consider the biography you're able to construct using Twitter. This is a ripe opportunity to develop some brand recognition right away. Put the title of the brand you're marketing in the bio, and consider including the most relevant keywords in your profile. As ever, do so in a way that respects the user's intelligence, and gives them something worth reading. Simply stringing together a chain of keywords is not the way to go.
Include keywords in your Tweets as well, taking care not to be terribly obvious about it. The first 20-30 characters are the best place, as later words are of decreased importance in a Google ranking search.
Identify Your Audience
Each brand rises and falls on the whim of the audience, known in this case as tweeple.
There are a number of applications available to help you with the process of identifying the tweeple that you want to cultivate into an audience. Twitterholic can help you identify the movers and shakers based on their Twitter traffic and their location. If you know your field or brand well, you can use this to locate groups with similar interests and woo them to your feed. Tweepz is a similar tool, focusing on location, and Twitter itself has a 'near this location' feature that can be used to identify tweeple nearby your center of business.
Let's Give Them Something to Tweet About
Yes, Twitter is an effective way to quickly distribute information. But its real power is in its ability to create conversations about something interesting.
In theory you could simply gather up a large user list of tweeple and start spamming them with links promoting your latest gig. This is a surefire way to get flagged for abuse or ignored entirely, and thus is rather counterproductive to good marketing goals.
Instead, consider using alternative methods to drum up those conversations that travel like wildfire.
For example, there is the technique of Alternate Reality Gaming. This is a phenomenon based on the idea of taking 'real' events and building a game out of them. Last Call Poker was an ARG that intended to drum up sales for an upcoming video game, GUN.
LCP spread out information about gatherings, online incentives, and other attractions to get people excited about the western theme of the game. Tokens such as poker chips and other goodies were given out at these events, and GUN went on to have a very successful launch. People were invited into the world of the western, and the chatter eventually included 8 million participants.
This kind of rogue advertising is tailor-made to work with Twitter. Locations and dates can easily fall within the 140 character limitation, as can short explanations. Consider creating an ARG with a short story designed to work within 140 characters, locate an audience with the assorted Twitter tools at your disposal, and plan some exciting events to promote your brand. The chance to get involved always gets people talking, and the more esoteric games can span entire continents.
There are other methods, some more appropriate to each individual brand. Perhaps a modest bicycling business isn't suited to promote a large ARG experience. They could, however, organize a bicycling flash mob by hopping onto the local bike hobbyist twitter feed and posting a date and time. The trick is less which technique you use, and more that you do your best to make it relevant. As always, strong content and clear presentation will win out over gimmicks and sales speak.
Also, consider one last thought. The introductory statements of each section in this article are Twitter compatible, and so is this one. Good luck and happy Tweeting.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Understanding Uninsured Motorist And Underinsured Motorist Insurance Coverage
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Quinton Becker
Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist Insurance (UIM) are often the most under-appreciated and misunderstood forms of insurance available to consumers.
I recall as a child, an uncle who had worked for an insurance agency declared to my parents that Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) insurance coverage were a complete waste of money. I know that we are supposed respect our elders, but I must respectfully disagree with my uncle. Let me explain why.
An Uninsured Motorist is defined as any driver who did not have any insurance at all, had insurance that did not meet the state-mandated minimum liability requirements, or whose insurance company denied the claim to the insured motorist, and the driver was financially unable to pay for medical expenses or damages on their own.
According to the Insurance Research Council, the estimated number of uninsured drivers may reach as high as 25% of the drivers on the road today, across the United States.
Underinsured Motorist refers to a motorist, who had the state mandated minimum liability insurance and was at fault, but their insurance policy will not provide enough coverage to cover the full bodily injury costs or property damages of everyone involved in the accident.
Under the umbrella of UM and UIM insurance, you will find two different options: Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UMBI) and Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD). While it is possible to purchase UMBI insurance separate from UMPD insurance, you will not be able to purchase UMPD insurance without also purchasing UMBI insurance.
UMBI insurance will pay for injuries to you or your passengers, when there is an accident that is the other person's fault and the person-at-fault is either uninsured or underinsured. A hit-and-run driver is also considered to be an uninsured motorist, as it relates to bodily injury and UMBI insurance.
UMPD insurance will pay for property damages to your vehicle, when the party-at-fault has no insurance or not enough insurance to cover your property damage repair or replacement expenses.
When purchasing Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) insurance coverage, be sure to verify whether it also covers UMPD expenses and the level of coverage offered with the plan. The standard uninsured motorist insurance package will vary from company to company. So ask for specifics about the uninsured motorist insurance package that is being offered to you.
Insurance agents, with most auto insurance companies, are required to make a consumer sign documentation that affirms the consumer's rejection of Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage. This provides a measure of protection to the insurance company, when the consumer realizes that his or her normal insurance policy will not cover bodily injury or property damage, when the fault for the accident is the result of the uninsured or underinsured motorist.
With up to 25% of the motorists on our roads being either uninsured or underinsured, the chances of being involved in a collision with an uninsured or underinsured motorist is 1-in-4.
Consumer advocates suggest that the average person will be involved in at least one traffic accident during the course of his or her lifetime. So the day will likely come that you will be involved in a traffic accident.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were more than 6 million auto accidents on American roads during 2009. For those of you who have not really thought about it, that means that there was one traffic accident in the U.S. during 2009, for every 50 residents of the United States.
Another statistic worth noting is that nearly 34,000 people were killed in traffic accidents during 2009, in the United States.
I don't know about you, but I would prefer to do my gambling in a casino, where I can have absolute control over how much money I am willing to lose. I certainly don't want to gamble with my personal finances, while I am behind the wheel of my car, by assuming that the guy in the next car has the liability insurance that he is required to have. With a 1-in-4 chance of coming out on the short end of the stick in a traffic accident, personally I think that those kinds of odds are just too high to risk saving a few dollars by rejecting Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage.
As for you, that is your choice... You can choose to reject Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage to save a few bucks on your insurance premium or not...
About the Author:
When comparing auto insurance quotes, be certain that you are always comparing apples-to-apples. When you understand what your auto insurance quote covers, you can make an educated decision about which auto insurance company is offering you the best value for your money. You can get auto insurance quotes from several local agents at: http://maxroo.com/updates/auto-insurance-quotes/ Oklahoma residents can get quotes and find insurance agent phone numbers at: http://CheapOklahomaAutoInsurance.com/ Written by Quinton Becker.
Copyright © 2010 Quinton Becker
Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist Insurance (UIM) are often the most under-appreciated and misunderstood forms of insurance available to consumers.
I recall as a child, an uncle who had worked for an insurance agency declared to my parents that Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) insurance coverage were a complete waste of money. I know that we are supposed respect our elders, but I must respectfully disagree with my uncle. Let me explain why.
An Uninsured Motorist is defined as any driver who did not have any insurance at all, had insurance that did not meet the state-mandated minimum liability requirements, or whose insurance company denied the claim to the insured motorist, and the driver was financially unable to pay for medical expenses or damages on their own.
According to the Insurance Research Council, the estimated number of uninsured drivers may reach as high as 25% of the drivers on the road today, across the United States.
Underinsured Motorist refers to a motorist, who had the state mandated minimum liability insurance and was at fault, but their insurance policy will not provide enough coverage to cover the full bodily injury costs or property damages of everyone involved in the accident.
Under the umbrella of UM and UIM insurance, you will find two different options: Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UMBI) and Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD). While it is possible to purchase UMBI insurance separate from UMPD insurance, you will not be able to purchase UMPD insurance without also purchasing UMBI insurance.
UMBI insurance will pay for injuries to you or your passengers, when there is an accident that is the other person's fault and the person-at-fault is either uninsured or underinsured. A hit-and-run driver is also considered to be an uninsured motorist, as it relates to bodily injury and UMBI insurance.
UMPD insurance will pay for property damages to your vehicle, when the party-at-fault has no insurance or not enough insurance to cover your property damage repair or replacement expenses.
When purchasing Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) insurance coverage, be sure to verify whether it also covers UMPD expenses and the level of coverage offered with the plan. The standard uninsured motorist insurance package will vary from company to company. So ask for specifics about the uninsured motorist insurance package that is being offered to you.
Insurance agents, with most auto insurance companies, are required to make a consumer sign documentation that affirms the consumer's rejection of Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage. This provides a measure of protection to the insurance company, when the consumer realizes that his or her normal insurance policy will not cover bodily injury or property damage, when the fault for the accident is the result of the uninsured or underinsured motorist.
With up to 25% of the motorists on our roads being either uninsured or underinsured, the chances of being involved in a collision with an uninsured or underinsured motorist is 1-in-4.
Consumer advocates suggest that the average person will be involved in at least one traffic accident during the course of his or her lifetime. So the day will likely come that you will be involved in a traffic accident.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were more than 6 million auto accidents on American roads during 2009. For those of you who have not really thought about it, that means that there was one traffic accident in the U.S. during 2009, for every 50 residents of the United States.
Another statistic worth noting is that nearly 34,000 people were killed in traffic accidents during 2009, in the United States.
I don't know about you, but I would prefer to do my gambling in a casino, where I can have absolute control over how much money I am willing to lose. I certainly don't want to gamble with my personal finances, while I am behind the wheel of my car, by assuming that the guy in the next car has the liability insurance that he is required to have. With a 1-in-4 chance of coming out on the short end of the stick in a traffic accident, personally I think that those kinds of odds are just too high to risk saving a few dollars by rejecting Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage.
As for you, that is your choice... You can choose to reject Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage to save a few bucks on your insurance premium or not...
About the Author:
When comparing auto insurance quotes, be certain that you are always comparing apples-to-apples. When you understand what your auto insurance quote covers, you can make an educated decision about which auto insurance company is offering you the best value for your money. You can get auto insurance quotes from several local agents at: http://maxroo.com/updates/auto-insurance-quotes/ Oklahoma residents can get quotes and find insurance agent phone numbers at: http://CheapOklahomaAutoInsurance.com/ Written by Quinton Becker.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Online Marketing: Can You Achieve SEO with a WordPress Site?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Paul Marshall
Experts in online marketing consulting emphasize a primary goal: getting your site indexed and ranked with the search engines.
Not long ago, they would have said a blog might help you do that. They likely wouldn't have recommended that a blog serve as your main site.
Thanks to advances in content management software, however, that's no longer the case. The line between conventional websites and blogs has all but disappeared.
"Blogging" programs have evolved into some of the most powerful and flexible content management systems available. One of the leading packages, WordPress, is completely free.
WordPress For Content Management
Sites built with WordPress can easily include static pages and sections. Technically, you will have a "blog," but it can be made to appear virtually indistinguishable from any other site on the Web.
For new website owners who want to manage their own sites without learning code, content management systems like WordPress are particularly attractive.
Rather than compromising on your available SEO options by running your site with blog software, you are actually gaining some unique and affordable SEO advantages and opportunities.
Effortless Structure
Content management systems allow material to be easily categorized. Search engines love structure. Categorization options will allow you to keep a more orderly site that will naturally perform better with the search engine spiders.
By establishing and sticking to categories, you can effectively group relevant material and keep up with keywords and anchor text you're optimizing. This includes:
- URLs with anchor text. Blog software makes it easier to create "crawlable" URLs that include your keyword phrases and anchor text.
- Relevant internal links. By grouping material in categories, you can make sure your internal links are relevant and doing the best job of dispersing PageRank across your site.
(All reliable online marketing consulting professionals stress the importance of relevant internal linking.)
Creating Fresh Content
Software like WordPress was specifically designed to handle the frequent creation of content. By regularly updating a portion of your site, either as a "news" section or as conventional blog commentary, you will:
- get crawled more often by the search engines, - cultivate a regular readership to generate "word of mouth" traffic, - more readily attract inbound links, - and develop site "authority" faster.
The "blogosphere" is a social environment. Studies show that blogs trade links much more often than conventional websites.
By including a "blogroll" or list of links to relevant sites in your sidebar, you will find that other bloggers organically return the favor. Inbound links bring PageRank to your site and create a greater perception of site authority.
Traffic And Links Via Comments
Commenting plays a large role in link sharing on blog sites. Comments and trackback features further encourage interaction among sites and increase overall visibility.
Be warned, however, that for comments to best serve your site, you will need to engage you readers by answering their comments and by visiting their sites and leaving comments of your own.
(Note that comments can be turned on and off throughout your site with the WordPress system.)
Links In "Unconventional" Locations
Syndicating a site managed with blog software via RSS is a largely automatic process. By actively managing your RSS feed, however, you can include links and generate traffic that does not come directly from the search engines.
Further, your site will be eligible for inclusion in blog directories and will be crawled by blog-specific search engines where your competition may have no presence whatsoever.
Content management software like WordPress will:
- impose structure and order on your site, - strengthen the use of anchor text in your urls, - encourage the addition of fresh content, - lead to organic links in the blogosphere, - increase the frequency with which the search engines crawl your site, - gain visibility for the site in areas your competition may ignore, - and generate a greater sense of authority for you and your site.
So, how can using the software to manage your site be a bad idea in terms of SEO?
Wrapping It Up
Content management systems, when used with the basic principles stressed by online marketing consulting professionals, are simply another tool in an affordable SEO arsenal.
Such systems do not change the core purpose for establishing your site, they simply provide a different means of maintenance and improvement.
While you may spend money initially to have your site's WordPress installation customized, overall, you will save on dollars that would otherwise go to a webmaster. Over time, that money can be spent on other SEO strategies.
With the ability to more easily and quickly manage your own site, you are not at the mercy of another person's schedule. At the same time, the native controls built into the software will give you greater control over your efforts to gain search engine ranking.
That's a win / win in anyone's book.
About the Author:
Marketing online since 2004, Paul Marshall can help you market on a realistic budget. He's an Online Marketing Consulting expert. He offers Online Marketing Consultant professional marketing services and Affordable SEO (and d-i-y Coaching). Get to know Paul, just visit Strategic Web Marketing.net today!
Read more of Paul Marshall's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Paul Marshall
Experts in online marketing consulting emphasize a primary goal: getting your site indexed and ranked with the search engines.
Not long ago, they would have said a blog might help you do that. They likely wouldn't have recommended that a blog serve as your main site.
Thanks to advances in content management software, however, that's no longer the case. The line between conventional websites and blogs has all but disappeared.
"Blogging" programs have evolved into some of the most powerful and flexible content management systems available. One of the leading packages, WordPress, is completely free.
WordPress For Content Management
Sites built with WordPress can easily include static pages and sections. Technically, you will have a "blog," but it can be made to appear virtually indistinguishable from any other site on the Web.
For new website owners who want to manage their own sites without learning code, content management systems like WordPress are particularly attractive.
Rather than compromising on your available SEO options by running your site with blog software, you are actually gaining some unique and affordable SEO advantages and opportunities.
Effortless Structure
Content management systems allow material to be easily categorized. Search engines love structure. Categorization options will allow you to keep a more orderly site that will naturally perform better with the search engine spiders.
By establishing and sticking to categories, you can effectively group relevant material and keep up with keywords and anchor text you're optimizing. This includes:
- URLs with anchor text. Blog software makes it easier to create "crawlable" URLs that include your keyword phrases and anchor text.
- Relevant internal links. By grouping material in categories, you can make sure your internal links are relevant and doing the best job of dispersing PageRank across your site.
(All reliable online marketing consulting professionals stress the importance of relevant internal linking.)
Creating Fresh Content
Software like WordPress was specifically designed to handle the frequent creation of content. By regularly updating a portion of your site, either as a "news" section or as conventional blog commentary, you will:
- get crawled more often by the search engines, - cultivate a regular readership to generate "word of mouth" traffic, - more readily attract inbound links, - and develop site "authority" faster.
The "blogosphere" is a social environment. Studies show that blogs trade links much more often than conventional websites.
By including a "blogroll" or list of links to relevant sites in your sidebar, you will find that other bloggers organically return the favor. Inbound links bring PageRank to your site and create a greater perception of site authority.
Traffic And Links Via Comments
Commenting plays a large role in link sharing on blog sites. Comments and trackback features further encourage interaction among sites and increase overall visibility.
Be warned, however, that for comments to best serve your site, you will need to engage you readers by answering their comments and by visiting their sites and leaving comments of your own.
(Note that comments can be turned on and off throughout your site with the WordPress system.)
Links In "Unconventional" Locations
Syndicating a site managed with blog software via RSS is a largely automatic process. By actively managing your RSS feed, however, you can include links and generate traffic that does not come directly from the search engines.
Further, your site will be eligible for inclusion in blog directories and will be crawled by blog-specific search engines where your competition may have no presence whatsoever.
Content management software like WordPress will:
- impose structure and order on your site, - strengthen the use of anchor text in your urls, - encourage the addition of fresh content, - lead to organic links in the blogosphere, - increase the frequency with which the search engines crawl your site, - gain visibility for the site in areas your competition may ignore, - and generate a greater sense of authority for you and your site.
So, how can using the software to manage your site be a bad idea in terms of SEO?
Wrapping It Up
Content management systems, when used with the basic principles stressed by online marketing consulting professionals, are simply another tool in an affordable SEO arsenal.
Such systems do not change the core purpose for establishing your site, they simply provide a different means of maintenance and improvement.
While you may spend money initially to have your site's WordPress installation customized, overall, you will save on dollars that would otherwise go to a webmaster. Over time, that money can be spent on other SEO strategies.
With the ability to more easily and quickly manage your own site, you are not at the mercy of another person's schedule. At the same time, the native controls built into the software will give you greater control over your efforts to gain search engine ranking.
That's a win / win in anyone's book.
About the Author:
Marketing online since 2004, Paul Marshall can help you market on a realistic budget. He's an Online Marketing Consulting expert. He offers Online Marketing Consultant professional marketing services and Affordable SEO (and d-i-y Coaching). Get to know Paul, just visit Strategic Web Marketing.net today!
Read more of Paul Marshall's articles.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
How to Avoid Four Surefire Ways to Kill Your Brand
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
There are no guarantees of success when developing a modern brand. There is no switch that will pour out money, there are no stunts that will automatically create attention, and there is no how-to manual that, if assiduously followed, will assure your brand's place in the annals of the great Internet legends. Brands are driven as much by the customer as they are by the originator, and the customer doesn't always want what's being sold.
That said there are certain behaviors and practices that are guaranteed to kill a brand, virtually without fail. There are always exceptions to the rule, but by and large you can at least count on these 'do nots' as fairly ironclad rules. What follows are four ways you can miss the point, and some advice for avoiding them.
Misfire #1 - Number Chasing
This may feel like a complete turnaround from previous articles. After all, we've discussed metrics and their usefulness in measuring success, haven't we? Surely the larger an audience the better a brand is doing.
The problem with this logic is that it confuses the goal with the measurement. Instead of focusing on satisfying customer demands for particular content or a certain product quality, the company focuses on making sure web traffic stays high. This kind of thinking disconnects you from the actual cause-and-effect of working on the product you're pitching, and creates an artificial reality that will do your brand no good.
As a rule of thumb for avoiding this behavior, consider the way you set goals. If you find the goal focusing on increasing audience numbers or some abstract figure instead of refining your core product, it's time to re-evaluate.
Misfire #2 - Going by Rote
Part of maintaining a modern brand is providing regular content. Updating frequently enough to maintain viewer interest is vital for any service, and making sure the physical product is advertised for the public's awareness is equally important if sales are the goal.
That said, there is a problem inherent in a scheduled updating system that can sneak into the provider's routine. Specifically we're speaking of the tendency to update without purpose. You see it frequently on twitter or certain blogs, where the provider is strapped for ideas and just posts a bit of airy, fluffy filler because 'it's time to post.' While this does meet the customer's expectation, this can work against you, as it leaves a bit of the 'what was the point?' question in their minds.
Instead, consider missing out a day if you genuinely don't have content to provide. It happens, there are slow days for everyone. Missing the routine for a day will give you time to pull up some new content, and when the audience chimes in and sees there isn't an update, they'll be curious and more likely to check back the next time.
Misfire #3 - Fadding Out
The difference between a movement and a fad is that a fad sits on the surface of things, changing very little; whereas a movement alters the very basics of how the world functions. 'Virtual Reality' was a fad. People hyped it up, but there was no way the majority of people were going to shell out thousands for VR systems and their ten-pound headsets. Twitter is a movement, having developed a broad appeal and fundamentally changed the way people think about spreading information.
We have spoken of the need for innovation and the ability to take risks in brand development, and these things are still true. However, how innovative is it to jump on board something someone else has created? Instead of following the trends, focus on what your brand needs and how it functions. If adding in an element makes sense, do so without hesitation. If you have to force it, forget it.
Misfire #4 - Losing Focus
At this point it's virtually ancient history, but there is a lesson for modern brand development in the Video Game Crash of the 1980s. The short of it is that every single company worth mentioning decided video games were the future, and opened up a video game division. They launched these efforts without any serious dedication to the craft of game design, and some succeeded while others failed. The most bizarre entrant was Quaker Oats, the people that make oatmeal. The result was a complete disaster.
What business would an oatmeal company have making games? On the surface, any business they desired. Perhaps it was always their secret passion, who knows? However, they lacked any serious experience in the venture, and you probably can't find ten people out of a thousand who remember what game or games they put out.
Focus on your message. This ties in with the idea of fads, but warrants its own point. If you have to stretch yourself or come up with a new department to accommodate a new idea, it's time to sit down and decide just how essential this idea is to your core message.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
There are no guarantees of success when developing a modern brand. There is no switch that will pour out money, there are no stunts that will automatically create attention, and there is no how-to manual that, if assiduously followed, will assure your brand's place in the annals of the great Internet legends. Brands are driven as much by the customer as they are by the originator, and the customer doesn't always want what's being sold.
That said there are certain behaviors and practices that are guaranteed to kill a brand, virtually without fail. There are always exceptions to the rule, but by and large you can at least count on these 'do nots' as fairly ironclad rules. What follows are four ways you can miss the point, and some advice for avoiding them.
Misfire #1 - Number Chasing
This may feel like a complete turnaround from previous articles. After all, we've discussed metrics and their usefulness in measuring success, haven't we? Surely the larger an audience the better a brand is doing.
The problem with this logic is that it confuses the goal with the measurement. Instead of focusing on satisfying customer demands for particular content or a certain product quality, the company focuses on making sure web traffic stays high. This kind of thinking disconnects you from the actual cause-and-effect of working on the product you're pitching, and creates an artificial reality that will do your brand no good.
As a rule of thumb for avoiding this behavior, consider the way you set goals. If you find the goal focusing on increasing audience numbers or some abstract figure instead of refining your core product, it's time to re-evaluate.
Misfire #2 - Going by Rote
Part of maintaining a modern brand is providing regular content. Updating frequently enough to maintain viewer interest is vital for any service, and making sure the physical product is advertised for the public's awareness is equally important if sales are the goal.
That said, there is a problem inherent in a scheduled updating system that can sneak into the provider's routine. Specifically we're speaking of the tendency to update without purpose. You see it frequently on twitter or certain blogs, where the provider is strapped for ideas and just posts a bit of airy, fluffy filler because 'it's time to post.' While this does meet the customer's expectation, this can work against you, as it leaves a bit of the 'what was the point?' question in their minds.
Instead, consider missing out a day if you genuinely don't have content to provide. It happens, there are slow days for everyone. Missing the routine for a day will give you time to pull up some new content, and when the audience chimes in and sees there isn't an update, they'll be curious and more likely to check back the next time.
Misfire #3 - Fadding Out
The difference between a movement and a fad is that a fad sits on the surface of things, changing very little; whereas a movement alters the very basics of how the world functions. 'Virtual Reality' was a fad. People hyped it up, but there was no way the majority of people were going to shell out thousands for VR systems and their ten-pound headsets. Twitter is a movement, having developed a broad appeal and fundamentally changed the way people think about spreading information.
We have spoken of the need for innovation and the ability to take risks in brand development, and these things are still true. However, how innovative is it to jump on board something someone else has created? Instead of following the trends, focus on what your brand needs and how it functions. If adding in an element makes sense, do so without hesitation. If you have to force it, forget it.
Misfire #4 - Losing Focus
At this point it's virtually ancient history, but there is a lesson for modern brand development in the Video Game Crash of the 1980s. The short of it is that every single company worth mentioning decided video games were the future, and opened up a video game division. They launched these efforts without any serious dedication to the craft of game design, and some succeeded while others failed. The most bizarre entrant was Quaker Oats, the people that make oatmeal. The result was a complete disaster.
What business would an oatmeal company have making games? On the surface, any business they desired. Perhaps it was always their secret passion, who knows? However, they lacked any serious experience in the venture, and you probably can't find ten people out of a thousand who remember what game or games they put out.
Focus on your message. This ties in with the idea of fads, but warrants its own point. If you have to stretch yourself or come up with a new department to accommodate a new idea, it's time to sit down and decide just how essential this idea is to your core message.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
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