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Small Business News: Best Practices
Jan 25th
Lots of factors go into making your small business the best it can be. But a look at what will make your business work the best includes a look at not only how you configure your business, but also the best public policy and environment in which small businesses thrive. We thought we’d take a look at some of the factors not only in the U.S. but around the world. What do you think make for best practices in small business. Please enter your suggestions below!
Legal
Do-it-yourself legal work will save your business money. This list of cost cutting suggestions for small business startup includes legal resources that can help you shave legal fees off your launching costs. The Web contains some excellent resources for legal basics. Not all are a substitute for hiring an attorney, but some can save you cash on the simple things. Daily Dose
Don’t forget legal and other details when creating your business. Getting excited with a great idea for a new small business is euphoric. But don’t forget there’s plenty of hard work involved including logistics. Here is a list of just some of the considerations, including some legal issues, you should be considering as you start your new small business. Sentinel Source
The art of hiring an attorney. Hiring an attorney, or attorneys, for your small business isn’t what it used to be, and that can be great news for small businesses struggling to cut costs. A new tighter economy has reduced legal costs and made it possible to negotiate on fees and parcel out the work for increased productivity at lower cost. Here are some very basic starting points. NYTimes.com
Trends
Are you willing to put your brand on the line? A new Maryland designation allows some socially conscious small businesses to do just that. The state’s new “benefit” corporation status lets businesses put their commitment to fair trade, eco-friendly or other specialized goods and products into their charter. So far the states has had 15 companies take them up on the new designation. Would you? The Washington Post
Transparency is the new standard. This law firm is blazing the way in a way that we see across the spectrum in terms of the behavior expected of small businesses and, indeed, all businesses today. Explain the basis of your billing, don’t keep secrets from your clients or try to keep them in the dark. It’s important for businesses to learn how to take a new approach to dealing with customers and each other. Irish Times
Policy
Healthcare battle begins in the U.S. Senate. Opponents of a healthare package seen as unfriendly to small business vow to push for repeal of the legislature in the U.S. Senate following a successful effort in the U.S. House. Attempts to repeal the law in the Senate will be more difficult due to support from the majority support there. A recent survey indicated most small business owners oppose the law which might force many businesses to either offer health benefits or pay a penalty. The Washington Post
Feds change course on anti-business regs. Two regulations pushed by U.S. federal agencies but opposed by business group seem no longer to be on course for implementation perhaps thanks to a change in administration policy. The regs proposed would have required elimination of noise in manufacturing environments and required more testing for medical devices. Your thoughts? WSJ
Global
Tax favoring small business may break EU law. You might think regulations benefiting small business would be viewed as a good thing by everyone. But it turns out a so-called “supertax” on big retailers in Scotland may break EU law. And a large retailer effected by the tax may take it to court. Of course, as much as we support small business here at Small Business Trends we’re not quite sure penalizing another class of business is the way to do it. See the full article. Press Association
Finance
Why more funding isn’t always the answer. Debate continues over the importance of funding to small business growth. But a recent story shows how funding isn’t necessarily the answer to businesses large or small. In this article we see a company that still went bankrupt laying off hundreds and leaving millions in debt, including to other small businesses, after receiving $8 million in funding backed in part by state tax credits. Chicago Tribune
Taxes
Important small business tax changes. There have been some important small business tax changes for 2011 and while not all will make a big difference to your overall tax preparation, it’s important to understand those that do allowing you to make better choices about running you company. In particular, be aware of changes related to the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. Details in the link above. Herald-Tribune
Small Business News: Best Practices
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Google’s Latest Changes Hamper Black Hat SEO Practices
Dec 14th
Google has made changes to their algorithm that has put the kibosh on the latest round of black hat SEO tactics. Black hat SEO are tactics some SEO “experts” use to get their site ahead in the search rankings in a not so ethical way.
“According to a recent statement by search engine giant, Google, the company has altered its search algorithm to better deal with black hat SEO practices and companies that use less than ethical practices to promote their website,” says Crisafi. “Word has it that the change was inspired by an online retailer who demeaned customers into posting links to his website on popular complaint websites and forums, thus garnering his business a higher Google PageRank.”
Although these tactics can quickly raise the rank of your page and increase traffic, in the long run, having your site removed from Google’s search engine isn’t worth it. If you have an external company handling your on-sight and off-sight SEO, make sure they are following the rules and playing fair.
Google rewards effort and great on-sight and off-sight SEO takes time and hard work but at the end of the day, your website will be at the top of the rankings and you didn’t risk getting punished by the big “G”.
View full post on .Com Marketing Blog | Internet Marketing Trends | Interactive Marketing
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5 Practices for Creating Presentations That Matter
Oct 14th
5 Practices for Creating Presentations That Matter
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
A big part of my job these days it seems is creating and delivering presentations. I’m far from the greatest talent, but I’ve learned a few things along the way about what makes an effective presentation. I’ve also come to conclude that mastering this skill, or at least becoming just a little more effective, is the most valuable personal development project you can undertake for your career.
I wrote an extensive piece on five best practices for presentations over at COLOURLovers.
1) Start Analog – map out your presentation on paper first so you can see the entire map
2) Think About the Journey – You need to lead your audience in ways that help them come to your point of view
3) Tell Your Story – Great presentations are like great movies
4) Less is More – Lose the bullet points and focus on using your slides as partner instead of a crutch
5) The Presenter’s Mindset – You are not there to impress or even teach, you’re there to mentor
View full post on Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
Small Business News: Social Media Best Practices
Oct 5th
Blog Commenting
The basics of blog commenting. Ryan Biddulph has these suggestions about leaving a comment on your favorite blog. Say hello. Think about what you say and say something meaningful. Don’t rush out of a conservsation. Sign your name. Check out the rest of Biddulph’s helpful suggestions above. RB’s Keys To Successful Living
Making your comments sticky. You may not normally think of blog comments as a form of social media marketing. Blog commenting can still be one of the best ways to draw attention to your content and online presence. It can also be an effective form of content marketing. Here are seven tips to get you started on blog comments guranteed to draw attention to your content even on the busiest blog. Traffic Generation Cafe
Social Media Branding
Facebook fan page as your own branded Website. When you think of the Facebook fan page for your company or organization, you may not immediately think of a branded Website. But6 in fact that’s what you can create for your business in this popular social media space with a dash of creativity and just a bit of preparation. Here are some simple suggestions that will brand your social media space. Bloggertone
Making the time for social media. You’re far too busy. You have other things to do. You don’t know how to outsource it and on and on and on. If you don’t see the value in social media you’ll come up with a million reasons why you can’t make it work for your business. But like falling in love, says David Garland, it all comes down to a change of heart. Make a committment to brand building with social media, Garland promises, and you will see the value. Small Business Trends
Networking & Marketing
Networking and marketing basics. From blogs to Twitter to specialty small business social media news and social media sites like Small Business Trends’ own BizSugar.com, all can be used to network and market you small business, says Small Business Trends editor and BizSugar CEO Anita Campbell in this interview with small business expert and advocate Donna Maria. Listen to the full podcast for more tips on how social media is becoming an indispensable tool for small businesses everywhere. Indie Business
Nuts and Bolts
Creating success with your social media. Social media may be a complex new field for small businesses to explore, but the basics of success are not difficult to understand and many of the basic ideas of success aren’t so different then things small business owners have been doing to network and market their businesses from the beginning. No deep dark secrets here. Just the basics of good marketing at work. Bloggertone
Book shelf
Taking your friending to the next level. Are you getting all you can out of social media tools? Do you want more, a comprehensive strategy for enhancing your approach to social media marketing. Pierre DeBois reviews Amber Mac’s Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business and tells you whether the strategies inside will help improve your game. Small Business Trends
Final Analysis
Beware the snake-oil salesman. Like anything else you do for your business, social media is a tool and you should have a goal in mind about what you plan to accomplish with it. Interactive marketer Richard Meyer insists there ared far too many small and large businesses alike who get involved in social media simply because it’s the latest thing and too many gurus only too happy to take their money without producing results. Know what you want from a social media campaign. Rich’s Marketing Blog
Small Business News: Social Media Best Practices
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
6 Best Practices for Savvy E-mail Marketing
Sep 29th
I love e-mail marketing. I love it because it’s universally understood and suited for normal people–people like your mom, your neighbor Jane down the street, and your customers who still haven’t signed away their life and privacy for a Facebook account (yet). E-mail marketing gives small business owners an intimate way to reach the “everyone else” of their market. And that’s where its power it lives.
But not all e-mail marketing is created equal. You know this because you, too, have an inbox. You see what arrives there. You can feel the difference between the e-mails you rush to open and the ones that cause you to angrily hit the delete key. If you’re a small business owner trying to tweak your e-mail marketing campaign, where you should start? What’s most important to readers?
Here are six e-mail marketing best practices to help you get started.
1. Be personal: If you’re using your e-mail newsletter as another way to shout at your customers or tout your Web site, you’re missing out. The power of e-mail marketing comes from its intimacy. Because you’re reaching someone in their inbox, they’ve already put you on a trusted pedestal. People will give their Twitter account to anyone, but they only share their e-mail with people they know won’t abuse it. So take the opportunity to forge a more personal relationship. Talk to your readers like they’re friends getting special access. Let them in on deals before the rest of the public. Use e-mail to tell your company’s story and create a special connection. Use a friendlier tone than perhaps you use on your Web site. Make e-mails special.
2. Know when to send it: You want to send your e-mail newsletter when people are most likely to be around to read it. Every industry will have slightly different data on when is the best time to send, so you need to experiment to see what works best for you. You probably know not to send your newsletter out at 6 p.m. on a Friday, but should you send it on Monday afternoon or Wednesday morning? Which will get you more clickthroughs and more readers? What does your competition do? The only way to know for sure is to test. Once you know which day of the week/time of day is best suited for your industry, be consistent about it. Make sure people know when to expect your newsletter so they’re waiting for it to hit their inbox.
3. Master the subject line: Your subject line will determine the fate of your newsletter. If you can set up a compelling promise, customers will click through to read it. If you don’t, they won’t. To attract readers to click, stay away from spammy words, clichés and over-promising, and learn to write succinct, snappy and engaging messages. I’d recommend testing different tones, lengths and calls to action to help you find out what your audience best responds to. You should also read marketing blogs like Copyblogger, Problogger and IttyBiz to help you find your brand voice.
4. Remember the preview pane: How many of your customers will be viewing your e-mail marketing via an e-mail application like Outlook or Thunderbird? That’s something you want to consider when designing. By optimizing your e-mail newsletter to be properly viewed in a preview pane, you increase your chances that readers see the most important part of your message. Designing for the preview pane may mean removing large images from the header, moving up your call to action so it’s visible even before the clickthrough, or placing your key points higher in the message. If customers like what they see, they’ll clickthrough and keep reading. But you have to get them there. I’d also recommend sending yourself a test version to see how things will appear when viewed in a preview pane. Don’t assume they look OK. Know.
5. Track everything: You want to monitor absolutely everything that is going on inside your e-mail campaign. Look at delivery rates, open rates, links clicks, conversions, customer service calls, etc. If there’s an option to track it, do it. The more you know about what’s not working, the more you can tweak your e-mail marketing so that it does. You can also use this information to segment your e-mails in the future to help you use persona marketing to reach specific customer types. This is where e-mail really starts to get powerful. The right message, to the right person, at the right time will give you the trifecta of effectiveness. I was pretty impressed to see that nearly 70 percent of marketers segment their e-mail lists regularly.
6. Don’t spam. Ever: There’s no greater way to lose a customer’s trust than to spam him or her. Make sure you’ve read up on the CAN-SPAM act and that your e-mail marketing techniques fall squarely inside of its regulations.
Those are some e-mail marketing best practices that I try to live by. Do you have others that work for you and your audience?
6 Best Practices for Savvy E-mail Marketing
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Using flexible work practices in small business
Sep 26th
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“The idea is to think about how flexibility might work in the business and how the team could operate so that there’s enough staff… |
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Publications The Top 5 Email Marketing Practices That Withstand The Test of Time 08/23/2010
Aug 23rd
| 3) Get your emails to the inbox. In the old days (or, the late ’90s) when email marketing was still in its infancy,… |
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13 Horrific Social Media Practices
Aug 13th
| In keeping with the theme of Friday 13th I thought I’d bring you 13 Social media Practices that I find particularly Horrific. So sit back relax… |
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Ventureneer and Caliber Partner to Develop Social Media Best Practices for Nonprofits
Aug 10th
| Ventureneer and Caliber are conducting an online survey to find best practices nonprofit use of social media. All nonprofits are invited to respond. |
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5 Social Media Best Practices for Business
Jun 16th
| Social networks and blogs are changing how consumers find places and services, how and where they share their experiences, and eventually, where they… |
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