It seems like I unsubscribe to something almost daily either because I never actually subscribed to it or because I’m not thrilled with the content. You see, people only subscribe to newsletters they believe they will benefit from. Of course they want to stay up to date on what you’re up to, but if that’s all you’re offering, your readers will soon get board and jump ship. After all, you’ve only got a few seconds to capture their attention from the inbox. What to do? Read More »

1. Make your copy (verbiage) readable. Almost conversation-like at the level of your audience.
2. Use real photos. Not cheesy stock photos, real photos of you and your staff that are more than just smiling headshots. Show off your flair.
3. Show off your penmanship. For example, you can use images of your actual handwriting for things like your name on a bio or contact page. Read More »

If it’s been eons since you took a look at your website and other marketing materials as a whole, there’s no better time than now to kick off the new year in style. Let your customers know you take your business seriously and you are a professional in tune with what your business stands for.

Okay, so maybe you DO take your business seriously and you ARE a professional in tune with what your business stands for, but don’t you think your customers should know that too? Others perceptions of your business have a lot to do with how its presented to them. Read More »

You shouldn’t steel photos from Google Images or the like for marketing purposes, that’s bad. As an alternative, we’ve rounded up a short list of the best free photo websites with limited use restrictions.

Feel free to add your own favorites!

Dreamstime
Stock Xchng
Flickr Creative Commons
Free Digital Photos
Veer

Want to do something unique this year that will make your customers think, “Wow! They really ARE cool! I should buy from them again.”

Well look no further. All it takes is to stand out from the crowd, in a good way, that’s branded to YOU. Easy, right? Not really. But if you put on your thinking cap, brainstorm with your staff and check out these cool ideas below, you’re sure to come up with something stellar.

Note: You can also click on each image for their source and more info.

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The goal is really to be active and rep your company at the same time. Here’s how:

1. Check and respond to your alerts. You should have alerts set up via Google Alerts and Social Mention or similar. Make sure to take a good look at these and respond to people talking about your company or industry. Even responding to negative chatter can turn into great opportunities if you do it carefully.
2. Tweet it up. Twitter is a great place to network. Don’t just push out company info, be helpful. Follow people who also have similar personal interests and make it a rule to interact with someone each time you check your feeds. You can also create search feeds in third party apps such as Seesmic based on certain relevant keywords for industry or company “listening” as well as news gathering or sharing. Most importantly, make sure your profile information includes a link to your website and brief info about your company, with your personal flair.
3. Post as a page. Facebook is such a significant platform for businesses. Not only is it great to post content from your business page regularly, but occasionally posting as your business on other business pages opens a whole new world of potential fans. Basically, you can post on other business pages your business “likes.” I would not recommend posting on competitor pages, but rather complimentary industry pages with words of expert enthusiasm on their popular content.
4. Be a blogger. You don’t necessarily have to blog your own content every day, but you should comment on other people’s content everyday. Visit your RSS feed daily and catch up on what’s going on in your industry while leaving your own footprint in the comment threads. A simple “great post!” is not going to cut it. In fact, that could make you look a little cheesy. Make sure you’re adding something relevant and useful to the conversation.
5. Check in with your groups. On LinkedIn that is. See what the people in your groups are posting and stay in touch with them. If someone posted about getting a new job, congratulate them! If someone is looking for connections in your town, offer to buy them a cup of coffee and welcome them. Mostly, you’ll find people posting articles they wrote or found online so make sure you contribute with your comments here as well. You might have even found a great post to share with your groups as part of your RSS readings.

Finding relevant key phrases for website SEO purposes can seem a bit overwhelming, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. First, it starts with asking. Ask your customers for key words and phrases that describe your company. This is helpful because words you might use are not words the general public might use to find you so talking like your customer is the most important. Read More »

In this paper-free, tech-savvy world we’ve come to adore, business cards have sort have been left in the dust. They haven’t evolved much and I’m tempted to concluded that most people just enter the info into their smart phones and toss the business cards we work so hard on beautifying.

But what if there was a way to make your business card interactive, something people wouldn’t mind having at their fingertips? That’s where QR codes come in and all the awesome ways you can use them on a business card.

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We don’t think this cool little button got the hype it deserved. Maybe it’s because LinkedIn didn’t do a fantastic job of telling us how it works. I had heard about it, but I didn’t think I needed anything beyond the generic share button I already had until I happened to stumble upon the ShareIn button on Social Media Examiner. In an instant I was sharing relevant content as my status update, with PR and social media groups of mine and a LinkedIn connection I knew would specifically be interested in the info… all in little popup window. How cool is that?

Okay so now your wondering why I would want to do that and more importantly, why it’s important for a blog to allow its readers to do that.

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First, let’s start off with why you’re NOT blogging… no time, I can’t think of anything to write about, yada yada yada. But do those roadblocks outweigh benefits like, positioning your business as the industry expert, getting the word out about special promos and events, giving your business humanity and perhaps most importantly, giving your business a MUCH larger web presence? That’s right… Every time you write a relevant blog post, Google likes you a little more.

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