Small business owners wear many hats. They have to be chief company officers, project managers, lead generators and much more. When budgets are tight, it can be hard to find the money to hire a quality copywriter. And if you’re going to promote your business, you need good copywriting. Many small businesses just slap some copy into an ad or brochure and call it good. But with the right copy, you can garner a lot more attention and sales for your business.
And that’s where Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps by Susan Gunelius comes in. Step-by-step, Gunelius shows you how …read more

If you sell a product in retail stores, then your packaging is a large part of your marketing. How you present your product to potential customers is extremely important. You want your first impression to be favorable. And the last thing you want to do is offend your potential customers.
Which is why, when I went to our local warehouse store, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a package for neck cream. In big letters — a font you could see from several feet away — was the product’s catch phrase:

Got turkey neck?
I was flabbergasted. I had to wonder …read more

I didn’t want to leave out a few posts that I came across recently, so I’m going ahead and posting these for you, even though they’re later in the day than normal. There was a lot of conversation over the weekend about the BlogWorld Expo, with some good information coming out of that. Try searching #bwe09 on Twitter if you missed it.
3 Ways for Businesses to Take Full Advantage of Facebook
Here’s a great listing of three different ways you can use Facebook for your business. John gives some good ideas on how to make the best of your Facebook experience.
Internet …read more

Once again there was quite a social media firestorm over the weekend as a woman’s story about her TSA (Transportation Security Administration) run-in went viral. The woman claimed that TSA authorities in Atlanta had taken her son from her sight during screening after something setting off the metal detectors.
The story spread all over Twitter and other parts of the web as concerned people retweeted the original story. Who wants to be separated from their child at the airport, confined to a security area? It hit an emotional nerve, especially with parents across the web.

Concerned about potential public relations damage, the …read more

If you are your brand – and for many small businesses, the owners are – your actions affect your brand. And it can be hard for your customers to separate the two. I’m not all that into building a personal brand, but I realize that as a writer I almost have to. So what I write on the web, whether personally or professionally, follows me around. And what you do follows you, too.
And that means you need to think about what you post on Facebook. And Twitter. And on your personal and business sites or blogs. And in comments on …read more

In the world of marketing, being ahead of the curve and finding the next big thing can be worth millions upon millions of dollars. That is especially true when it comes to search engines.
Currently, Google remains the king of search. However, there are some interesting challengers lurking in the background. Bing.com has had some very positive reviews. Additionally, there are other search engines — such as Nexplore — that could become heavy hitters in the future.
SEO Marketing Guide’s Mario Rodriguez recently began investigating the growing popularity of Bing and Nexplore.
Said Rodriguez: “We are also planning to poll search engine users …read more

I live within shouting distance of the grocery store. It’s so close, I get to watch deliveries from my window. And hear the trucks at 5 a.m., but that’s another topic. The store is quite convenient, considering I can walk over, grab milk and be back in less than ten minutes.
But I hate that store. I will do as much shopping as I can at the one about 3-4 miles away whenever I can. You see, this store is horribly organized. Items are scattered all over the store and even though I’ve lived near this store for over ten years, …read more

Here we are once again, headed into a new week. What’s on your agenda for the next several days? I hope you’ve had a chance to read about the newly updated FTC guidelines for advertising. If you give away free products or services in return for reviews or endorsements (or pay for such services), the new rules will affect you. While it doesn’t go into affect until December 1st, it can impact you — so check it out before the holiday craziness makes you forget about it.
This past week I’ve seen a lot of posts about the new guidelines and …read more

Email marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing in existence. That said, there are a number of potential email marketing pitfalls that marketers should be aware of that can derail a marketing campaign.
Too Much Overhead
Especially when you are sending hundreds of thousands email marketing messages, the marketing overhead can really add up. Find a solution that is cost effective — even if it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles.
Not Following Guidelines
If email marketing messages are marked as spam, that is a huge blow. Be sure to follow all guidelines to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Poorly Constructed Email …read more

When you first startup a business, one of the things that a business owner must implement is marketing. Having a strong marketing plan can help a business thrive in today’s economy.
To develop a strong marketing plan for a startup, below are some of the things that should be included by the business owner using the acronym S.T.E.A.D.Y.:

Strategy. Start with a strategy of how you will market your business.
Timing. Make sure that you time your marketing campaign so that it connects at the right time and the right way with your target market.
Evaluate. Build-in a way to evaluate your marketing efforts …read more