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14 Books on Leadership Every Young Entrepreneur Should Read
Feb 21st
There are a great many business books out there on everything from marketing and brand building to stories of the life and times of some great business person. For better or for worse, these books often shape the past, present and future generations of entrepreneurs.
We asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invitation-only nonprofit organization comprised of the country’s most promising young entrepreneurs, this question:
“What business book do you recommend for improving management leadership?”
From Dan Kennedy’s “No BS Ruthless Management,” to “Switch” by Chip and Dan Heath, to Eric Reis’ “Lean Startup,” here are 10 books on leadership every young entrepeneur should read.
1. Good to Great
“Good to Great by Jim Collins is one of the more exciting pieces of literature available on improving management leadership, and how businesses can be good, but how they can be exceptional and rise above the competition.” ~ Danny Wong, Blank Label Group, Inc.
2. Anything You Want
“In my opinion, Derek Sivers‘s book Anything You Want was the best of the year. He writes about his atypical approach to management and leadership that will open any entrepreneur up to new ideas and possibilities.” ~ Logan Lenz, Endagon
3. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
“The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell breaks leadership down into bite-size stages that can take anyone from novice to the highest level of leadership, while also inspiring others and molding them into great leaders. The book makes the difficult path to becoming a great leader seem both clear and attainable. I find myself rereading this book every year as I grow as a leader.” ~ Jason Evanish, Greenhorn Connect
4. Quiet Leadership
“In his book Quiet Leadership, David Rock shows aspiring leaders the most important skill they can possess—how to empower their employees to identify their own thinking processes and take responsibility for finding their own solutions to day-to-day problems.” ~ Alexia Vernon, Catalyst for Action
5. The One Minute Manager
“From Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, The One Minute Manager is an absolute classic that teaches how to inspire employees to manage themselves, which allows you to focus more on leadership. It can also be read in about an hour so you can get back to managing (and it will actually get read)!” ~ Scott Dinsmore, Live Your Legend & Cumbre Capital
6. No BS Ruthless Management
“If you really want to learn how to manage your team and your business and lead your company to the top of your market, No BS Ruthless Management by Dan Kennedy is a must-read. In it, you will find real world examples, tips and scenarios that you can apply instantly into your business.” ~ Greg Rollett, The ProductPros
7. Taking People With You
“If you want to improve your leadership skills, then you should read David Novak‘s new book called Taking People With You. The book teaches leaders and managers how to set big goals, get people to work together, and achieve real business results in the process.” ~ Dan Schawbel, Millennial Branding
8. The Lean Startup
“The Lean Startup by Eric Ries is the greatest business book. A must-read for any manager or leader. It teaches you how to build a company and focus on the key aspects that will make it successful. It dives deep into case studies and walks you through exactly what to do. It kills startup myths and gives you specific tactics to help you dominate.” ~ Rishi Shah, Flying Cart LLC
9. Truth About Managing Effectively
“The Truth About Managing Effectively, written by Robbins, Fyock and Finney, covers everything—from motivation and engagement to leadership and communication. It provides the knowledge on how to find and keep the right people, regardless of your budget or industry.” ~ Heather Huhman, Come Recommended
10. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
“Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath outlines how behavior change is made—by making people want to change themselves instead of enforcing top-down decisions. Getting your team on board and excited is one of the most important skills of a great leader.” ~ Laura Roeder, LKR
11. Heavy Hitter Selling
“Ostensibly a book about sales, Steve W. Martin includes a great amount of nuggets for leaders in Heavy Hitter Selling. He’s taught at Cal and USC, and has sold to many Fortune 500 companies. He dives deep into leadership communication, managing up, and more.” ~ Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches
12. Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us
“If you want to create a mission-driven movement, in Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us, Seth Godin shares how to create something that people truly want to get behind. The book gives amazing case studies of people who have created empires by leading their employees to lead thousands of raving fans.” ~ Matt Wilson, Under30CEO.com
13. Strategic Leadership: The General’s Art
“Edited by Mark Grandstaff and Georgia Sorenson, Strategic Leadership: The General’s Art is a must-read for entrepreneurs looking to improve their management leadership. It provides the keys to leadership success shared by America’s senior military leaders and experts in strategic leadership, critical thinking, and corporate culture. It also provides practical exercises to help put the strategic theories into action.” ~ Anthony Saladino, Kitchen Cabinet Kings
14. The Rare Find: Spotting Exceptional Talent Before Everyone Else
“Being a great leader means filling your team with the best people. I just read The Rare Find by George Anders about how to spot exceptional hires. It uses techniques and case studies—from army recruiting and NBA scouting to top level executive hires. I have used a lot of the ideas to refine my hiring strategy which will hopefully fill my team with judicious choices as we grow!” ~ Vanessa Nornberg, Metal Mafia
Reading Photo via Shutterstock
14 Books on Leadership Every Young Entrepreneur Should Read
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
7 Gmail Tips Every SMB Should Know
Feb 2nd
So many of us in the small business community rely on Gmail as our default email provider, and with good reason! We use Google because it comes at a price point we love (often free) and it integrates with other applications that we use on a daily basis – like our calendar and To Do list. If you’re a small business using Gmail to manage your email and your customer relations, why not make sure you’re getting the most out of it that you can?
To help you do just that, below are seven tips for how to use Gmail smarter. Because if you think Gmail is great on its own, you don’t even want to know how powerful it is once you supercharge it.
1. Get a Gmail account at your own domain with Google Apps: Just because you like the simplicity of relying on Google for email doesn’t mean you want @gmail.com to append your email address. You know that customers will trust your business more if they see you have a branded email account connected to your business. They’re looking for that name@yourdomain.com in order to trust your business and that you’re a “real” company. And you don’t have to sacrifice this important authority metric just to use Google. You just have to become a Google Apps users. For five dollars (per email address) a month, small business owners can become a Google Apps users andCanned Responses comes into play. By turning on Canned Responses it gives you the ability to write your message once, save it, and then use it based off certain keywords in your message.
2. Juggle multiple email accounts from one interface: You probably don’t have just one email address. Most of us practically collect email addresses. There’s our personal email, our work email (name@domain.com), the generic company email (info@domain.com), and other email addresses we use for other purposes. But just because you have five different emails doesn’t mean you have the time to be logging in and out of accounts all day. By setting up Mail Fetcher in Gmail, you can download messages from up to five other accounts in one interface to help you centralize all of your email. This way you’re spending your time answering it instead of trying to access it.
3. Use Labels: SMBs can use labels to help organize their inbox and keep them on task. To create a label, select the message you want the label to apply to, hit the Label button in the toolbar (it looks like a tag), and then choose Create New. Once your label is created, you’ll be able to apply it to different messages in your inbox or even nest it under a broader category. This is really helpful in organizing your inbox. You can even then create filters to have certain messages removed from your inbox until you have the time to deal with them.
4. Use Boomerang: Boomerang is a Gmail plugin that lets you take back control of your inbox by giving you the ability to write emails now and schedule them to go out later. Want to respond to an email to get it off your plate but don’t want to have to respond when the other person tennis balls it back to you? Schedule it to go out in an hour. Or at the end of the day. Or perhaps you can’t sleep and you’re answering email at 4am. You don’t have to alert your business contacts to your raging insomnia. Write it now and then schedule it to go out at 8am when the rest of the world is awake. You can also use Boomerang to remind you to check up on people who haven’t gotten back to you or use it for link building.
5. Answer faster with canned responses: Take a look at your email right now. How many emails are waiting for you to write the same answer to the same question over and over again? If you’re like most small business owners, probably a lot. And that’s where Google’s Canned Responses comes into play. By turning on Canned Responses it gives you the ability to write your message once, save it, and then use it based off certain keywords in your message.
6. Reply by chat or video: Or why answer the email with another email at all? End the cycle and take advantage of Google’s option to reply by chat or by video.
7. Mute emails: For emails not sent directly to you (for example, if you’re part of an email group or listserv) you can mute emails that you wish not to see. Perhaps there’s an email discussion going around that you’re no longer interested in or people are all leaving their thoughts on a topic that doesn’t involve your business, by using the shortcut M, you can actually mute the thread to hide the emails so you don’t have to deal with them. It’s like magic.
Those are some ways that I supercharge Gmail to work better. What works for you?
7 Gmail Tips Every SMB Should Know
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
If Your Product is Really Good, It Should Sell Itself
Jan 28th
How true is this? In response to an article on how to promote your business without being pushy, David Morgan threw the statement, “If your product or service is really good, it should sell itself” out there. So is it true?
If your product or service is really good, will it sell itself? And if so, when?
We want passive income, passive work and pay checks that come like clockwork—I know I do. But how passive can we be in the sales process?
Do products or services really sell themselves?
I see it like this: marketing is exposure. But the sales part of the process is closure. It’s the point that we decide to act on this “thing” that we now want, need and can no longer live without. And ultimately, in order for us to make the most of our customer’s experience we do have to be extremely active in both the marketing and the sales—or at least active in the plan behind the sales and marketing.
But David brings up an interesting point:
“If you produce a product or service which exceeds your customers expectations while fulfilling their needs and wants, it will basically sell itself (within reason).”
While I don’t believe that anything ever sells itself, I agree with the idea that a quality product or service can be much easier to sell. But every part of the process needs the best that we have to give.
As Gregory Berns, Psychiatrist and Author of Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How To Think Differently says:
“A person can have the greatest idea in the world…but if that person can’t convince enough other people, it doesn’t matter.’’
It’s also true of products because convincing “enough other people” is the marketing process. We just need to consider product development as the first part of the marketing process. Better products, better marketing, a better sales process leads to a better business.
So what do you think? I would love to know what you’ve learned from your own business. In the meantime, here is a quick “2-part,-I-almost-don’t-need-to-say-it,-but-I-will” marketing process/summary (and thanks, David, for your comments).
A Simple “2-Part,-I-Almost-Don’t-Need-to-Say-it,-But-I-Will” Marketing Process
Your marketing budget may be slashed, forcing you to use non-traditional but more cost effective mediums. That’s ok, you can still get your name out there. You just have to:
- understand your options;
- learn how to effectively use what you have;
- design a plan and implement it with everything that you got.
Simple Website Strategy
You need a website home that is more than just a brochure online. Have an about page that sounds like there are real people behind the business. Use a blog to have personal engagement with some of your visitors.
You can also use social media to connect and have a conversation. Act like you are talking to real people—because you are. And then give them some place to go when they finish talking to you on social media. That “some place” should be your information filled website that completely relates to your product or service and your audience.
Simple Product Strategy
Create one heck of a product or service that solves a real problem. And make it simple, or as simple as possible. When developing or upgrading the product, think like the client. Feel their frustration and work to alleviate it.
If you have a hard time role playing, then talk to real clients and find out what they really hate. In this economy money is spent daily, but only when necessary. And oftentimes necessary just means irresistible. So design an irresistible product for your target audience and then market it like it matters.
Sales Photo via Shutterstock
If Your Product is Really Good, It Should Sell Itself
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
5 Habits Small Businesses Should Adopt in 2012
Jan 25th
As the New Year begins, a lot of us are hoping to do better in our business than last year. And if last year did not meet our expectations, we are looking to improve things. Here are a few thoughts that have emerged as I battle to grow my business:
Get a Higher Goal
We all know how hard it was to start our company, get the product out and get those first 10-20 customers. Now, you are sitting at 65 customers and there is a little bit of money coming in. There is hope for more. You would be at a super comfortable income at 200 customers. Make sure you aim for a 1000 this year. If you don’t plan for a large enough target, you will find it a tough hike to 200 as well.
Get in Deeper
What can you do different for this higher goal? Let’s say you have certain marketing channels to promote your site/product. You are spending on online advertising, have a part-time sales person, are sitting on Twitter and have your web designer helping you with SEO. It’s time to become proficient at some of these things yourself. If you know that getting your site showing on Google will make a much more accelerated impact than making cold calls – learn some basics on SEO (search engine optimization). Take a course, ask people, see what your competition is doing. Sites like blekko give you detailed insights into what makes your competition rank higher on Google.
Get Some Uncle Scrooge in You
Are you still spending $500 per month on those banner ads? Have you calculated conversions on these particular ads to your site? Or is it just a black hole? Those customers you got last month could have come from word of mouth, not those ads. Make sure you measure every dollar that you spend on marketing. Early on, you might not have the cash to splurge on “brand building.” Spend the money if you know you are getting something out if it. I know, it’s hard at times, but you have to be a hawk – don’t give in to sharp sales pitches and good looking sites.
Get a Physical
When was the last time you checked in with your old customers? I know they are still paying you and hence happy, but make sure you know if something is hurting them, or if they are missing something that you could add easily. Also, keep an eye on Twitter, Quora and LinkedIn on what people might be saying about your product or the competition. You can also post questions on this forum to learn more about what you could do better. For the customers that left, send a gentle, personal email asking them what was missing.
Get Some Rest
Thinking of quitting? This might be because you are burnt out with all the effort and hours you are putting in the business. The only reason a business fails after getting to 100 paying customers is because the primary driver (you) did not continue long enough. Make sure you switch off for a few hours in the evening, go to the gym, take a trip or a vacation – you need a reset button. Come back and kill it!
Setting daily goals will convert some of the above ideas into habits that will ensure you hit your targets for this year.
Rest Photo via Shutterstock
5 Habits Small Businesses Should Adopt in 2012
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
11 Red Flags Startups Should Avoid When Hiring
Jan 10th
Getting to a point where it’s time to hire employees is a huge milestone for startups. But there are lots of things to consider when looking to hire someone to join your startup team, including whether or not that person’s goals are in line with the company goals and how good a fit the candidate is with the company culture. Ultimately, it might just be a matter of what your instinct is telling you about the candidate’s character and motivation.
We asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invitation-only nonprofit organization comprised of the country’s most promising young entrepreneurs, this question:
“What are some major red flags that startup management teams look for when hiring new employees?”
Here’s what the YEC community had to say about hiring for your startup:
1. Gut Check Test
“A candidate may meet all of the requirements on paper. They might present well in person. But, most importantly, do they pass your gut check test? Don’t let your urgency to hire cloud your vision. Including several stages of interviews during the hiring process will help you to get to know the candidate better to be able to determine if they will truly be a good fit.” ~ Abbie Davies, My First Yoga
2. Watch Out for Slow Responders
“In the early days of a startup, there is little redundancy. This means if an emergency hits you need all hands to help, regardless of what time it is. It’s hard to tell in an interview if someone will be there when servers go down at 3 a.m., but a great test is seeing how quickly candidates respond to your communications. If they really want to join your team, they’ll be all over them.” ~ Jason Evanish, Greenhorn Connect
3. Is it Just a ‘Job’ to Them?
“Some people looking to be hired just want a job and are not there to really contribute to your mission. Get to the root of why they want to work with your business and if there is a passion there. If there’s no passion you know all you need to about bringing that person onto your team. You need a solid group who like the idea, want to help it grow and also learn more along the way.” ~ Ashley Bodi, Business Beware
4. Did You Do Your Homework?
“I interview prospective employees on the phone first. One of the questions I ask is what they know about my company. Repeating sound bytes from my job posting will not cut it. If someone has learned nothing about my company before applying, I know that they are not the kind of person I want working with me. I need employees who make things happen–not ones who wait for things to happen to them.” ~ Vanessa Nornberg, Metal Mafia
5. A Lack of Personal Projects
“Whenever I’m considering a new hire, I go looking for any side projects that individual has worked on — blogs, open source projects and so on. Those sorts of projects tells me that a potential employee can work on her own without me staring over her shoulder. It also says that a person is a self-starter, which is a great indicator that she will do well in a startup situation.” ~ Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting
6. ‘I Don’t Like Being Micromanaged’
“This is an immediate red flag when brought up in an interview. Employees who generally use this line are those who don’t want to be managed by goals/results, and instead, wish to run with their own agendas or what “feels right” to them.” ~ Warren Jolly, Affiliate Media Inc.
7. Unclear Goals
“Always ask prospective employees about their goals. Not only will it tell you interesting things about their personality, you’ll also be able to determine whether this person will be a good fit for the company in the long run. If they don’t have any goals or their goals are unclear, proceed with caution. They may be taking the job for a paycheck instead of working with directed focus.” ~ Lisa Nicole Bell, Inspired Life Media Group
8. Concern With Hours
“It’s not that we all need to work 120 hour weeks. It’s not that you have to be in on Sunday. It’s not that you need to give up your girlfriend or gardening. It’s that there are no hours; a startup is a mission and a mission doesn’t have a daily start and end time. If something breaks at midnight, we fix it. If the sun begs an afternoon run, take that run. This isn’t a job. This is a lifestyle.” ~ Derek Shanahan, Foodtree
9. I Love the Startup World!
“Do they really? Why, what have they done, who do they know and how are they trying to get involved in the startup scene? Do they have a clue how different the role can be at a startup compared to a big company? Many people who “love” the startup world actually want a big corporate job but they heard tech startups were cool.” ~ Jared O’Toole, Under30Ceo.com
10. Is This Employee Too Entrepreneurial Minded?
“If you are hiring an employee, you’ll want to find someone who is on board for the long term. Startup management teams often can sniff out when a candidate is too entrepreneurial and has no intention of staying with your team for longer than a few months. Listen to your gut and if this person is the type who simply wants to work for themselves, don’t hire them.” ~ Matt Wilson, Under30CEO.com
11. Honesty and Integrity
“Skills and knowledge can be taught where as honesty and integrity are inherent to the personality of the applicant. Search for honesty and integrity first and then select the most skilled from that list. Not having honesty and integrity will cause problems and cost real dollars down the line.” ~ Lucas Sommer, Audimated
Red Flag Photo via Shutterstock
11 Red Flags Startups Should Avoid When Hiring
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Should You Do It Yourself (DIY) or Pay the Experts (PTE)?
Dec 29th
It’s the big mistake that we have the power to fix. But it’s also the kind of thing that we could spend a lifetime getting wrong—without intervention. When should you do it yourself (DIY) and when should you pay the experts (PTE) to do it for you?
Small business owners are the kings and queens of creating something out of nothing, of learning every skill that they have to learn in order to move their businesses forward. Cash-strapped individuals with great ideas have been known to be highly innovative—but that doesn’t have tp mean doing it all by yourself.
When is it time to grow the team? Here’s a simple reality check.
What are you doing?
If you are designing your own graphics when your skill set lies in writing or negotiations or product design, then you may need to re-evaluate your efforts. If you are writing your own marketing copy when you excel at graphic design or customer service, then you may need to add a writer to the team to maximize your time and effort.
How are you doing it?
If you’re creating lowbrow solutions that make your company look like a hobby instead of a business, then you may need to upgrade the team. Just as a weak product is bad for business, weak visuals and weak content hurt your bottom line because they fail to attract the right clients.
Does your current system cost you money or make you money?
If the expert charges $300 to create a custom WordPress website but it takes you 300 hours to do it yourself, then you have to factor in the cost of your time to see which option offers the true savings.
Keep this in mind: Hiring an expert doesn’t mean that you stop learning or that you turn your brain off. It means that you have more time
- for the parts of the business that you excel at and where you cannot be replaced,
- to further develop your communication skills, because that’s a crucial ability for every business leader,
- to spearhead the overall strategy behind the business, because no one will care about the big picture as much as you do.
What time is it?
Sometimes it costs too much to DIY. And sometimes it costs too much to PTE. It’s up you, the business leader, to know the time involved and how to make the most of it.
Image from Kalim/Shutterstock
Should You Do It Yourself (DIY) or Pay the Experts (PTE)?
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Why Profit Should Be Your Most Important Goal
Dec 26th
Why Profit Should Be Your Most Important Goal
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
This time of year many business owners revisit goals and objectives for the coming year. I know that I do and it’s a practice that helps me focus on what’s really important all the way to the task level.
Mr.Thomas via Flickr CC
In all my years of working with small business owners and suggesting they do the same one word hardly gets brought up in the goal setting conversation and that word is profit.
I know every business hopes in the end to make a profit, but few make it a measure of success. I also know that may times small business owners look at what they pay themselves as profit, but here’s the problem with that. What you pay yourself is what you get paid for doing a job. Profit is what you gain from the investment of your time, talent and in some cases blood and guts.
Without profit what you’ve created is a really, really hard job. In fact, one of the saddest things I encounter is a small business owner working their tail off with no profit to show and compensation far below what someone else would ever suggest they do the work for.
So many businesses get fixated on growth, but revenue growth without profit is simply more work. Set goals for profit levels and make decisions based on growing profit.
Profit is the measure of the return on your investment. Profit is how you build something you can sell. Few others are crazy enough to buy your job, but profit is the demonstration that yours is more than a job.
You must start to make profit, over above your fair market wage, a primary goal for the immediate and long term future health of your business.
My recommendation is that your pick up Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!: 4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential
It’s a great way to start understanding this important topic in plain English.
View full post on Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
Should You Incorporate Now or in 2012?
Dec 21st
It’s almost time to turn the page on 2011. But before you start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions, it’s a good time to take stock of various odds and ends that should be completed while it’s still 2011.
Perhaps you have been considering incorporating or forming an LLC for your business, but you haven’t yet made the time in your daily calendar or maybe you just aren’t sure when is the best time to do so.
There’s a simple answer to when to incorporate, and that’s right now. After all, the sooner you incorporate or form an LLC, the sooner you can start reaping the rewards of your business structure – whether that’s potential tax savings or lowering your personal liability.
But, as in all tax and legal matters related to your business, the answer isn’t always so simple. There are other considerations that can influence the optimal timing for your business structure.
Your incorporation date isn’t retroactive
Your corporation’s “start date” is not retroactive. Your new legal structure and any tax benefits you might receive apply from the date you incorporated. This typically means filing two business income tax returns for the year. For example, if your corporation was formed on December 15, you’ll need to file as a sole proprietor (or whatever your previous entity may have been) from January 1 to December 15 and then file as a corporation from December 15 to December 31.
To ease the paperwork burden, many small business owners look to incorporate on the most logical start date of all…January 1. For this reason, January is the absolute busiest time of the month for your state’s Secretary of State office, and you’ll be at the mercy of any backlog. It’s not uncommon for it to take up to 40 to 60 business days to bring a corporation or LLC into existence after submitting your filing documents to the state office. And as state offices grapple with budget shortfalls and employee cuts, wait times will only get longer.
Consider a delayed filing
There’s an interesting option that can fast-track your application to the front of the line come January. Provided by an online legal document filing service, a “Delayed Filing” lets you complete your paperwork and submit your application with a document filing service now, and then delay your actual incorporation date until the new year.
A delayed filing is a great option, as you can effectively choose the date of incorporation or LLC formation. And by getting your paperwork in now, you can cross one more thing off your list, and avoid having to file multiple business income tax statements and an annual report for 2011.
Of course, a delayed filing is not for everyone. If you fall into any of the following categories, you should look to incorporate sooner, rather than later:
- You’re a consultant or other professional who needs to form a corporation in order to be awarded a particular job.
- The tax benefits associated with incorporating are so significant that it makes no sense to wait (and your tax advisor has advised you to incorporate now).
- You feel you need the legal protection of your own personal assets from any liability owed by the company–sooner rather than later.
But for those of you who see no pressing need to fast track your incorporation or LLC formation, consider the delayed filing option and ask your document filing service about this feature. You can get your paperwork completed right away, select your preferred effective date, and be ready to start fresh with your business in 2012.
Incorporate Photo via Shutterstock
Should You Incorporate Now or in 2012?
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Attention Affiliate Managers: Why You Should Attend Affiliate Management Days
Dec 12th
If you’re looking for information on managing an affiliate program, Affiliate Management Days in San Francisco is designed for you. This event, which will be held March 8-9, 2012, will bring together digital marketing managers, consultants, affiliate program managers (both those who work in-house and those from outsourced agencies), researchers, affiliate network reps, and affiliate-management software providers.
Conference Chair Geno Prussakov says Affiliate Management Days, or AMD, aims to create a learning environment that will help educate affiliate managers and make them more effective at their jobs.
At the conference, you’ll hear experts speak on affiliate marketing analytics, affiliate recruitment, conversion rate optimization, combatting fraud, and leveraging emerging trends (from mobile to online-offline synergies).
The Importance of a Smartly-Run Affiliate Program
Not all affiliate programs are equal, it seems. But the more successful ones are those that are properly managed, says Prussakov:
“A managed affiliate program (a) equips affiliates to become more successful, (b) motivates them on an ongoing basis, and, as a result (c) reaps more fruit. A commonly overlooked opportunity is in recruiting and developing those new affiliates who are both professionally mature and psychologically ready to engage in performance marketing, but need a bit of education and additional guidance upon which they turn into your super-affiliates. Spending a few hours a week on developing such hidden gems can result in improving your program’s profitability by as much as 50-75%. I’ve seen this happen! “
The conference also aims to help affiliate managers become aware of and address compliance issues. One of the biggest challenges that affiliates and affiliate managers face is the FTC’s regulation on endorsements and testimonials. He says:
“In the course of 2011 we’ve seen merchants fined for disseminating ‘deceptive advertisement’ through affiliate marketers, where review sites, which were compensated through an affiliate program, were posting testimonials phrased as independent and objective customer reviews. The Federal Trade Commission views merchant-affiliate relationships in a sponsor-endorser light, where the affiliate should clearly disclose the relationship on his/her site. The advertiser/merchant, on the other hand is expected to educate and equip affiliates to comply with this rule, and to police the compliance. The former two are easy to implement, while the latter still remains problematic for many.
Another topic that’s sure to be on attendees’ minds is Google’s relationship with affiliate sites. Prussakov says that it’s easy to oversimplify and say that Google doesn’t like affiliate sites, but he stresses the fact that Google identifies what it deems of value on an affiliate site:
“Google is explicit that they dislike sites with ‘little or no original content,’ and that the key to improving rankings is precisely in focusing on adding value via original, targeted, fresh and relevant content. And I applaud Google for taking such a stance! Affiliate program managers should foster and encourage this as well. I still see quality affiliate websites go from zero to thousands of UVs [unique visits] a month in a matter 1-2 months. You can never go wrong with a focus on quality and value.”
For more information on the Affiliate Management Days event, which will be March 8-9, 2012 at the Westin San Francisco, visit the site. Until December 20, you can register at the Super Early Bird rate of $995. The speaker proposal deadline is December 23, so if you’re interested in being a speaker, get moving!
Attention Affiliate Managers: Why You Should Attend Affiliate Management Days
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Top 5 Reasons You Should Attend the New York XPO
Nov 8th
On November 16, 2011, Manhattan will be THE business hot spot on the East Coast, when the New York XPO for Business kicks off at the Javits Center. It’s free (yes, we said FREE) to attend.
The schedule is packed with speakers, and the Business Resource Pavilion will have programs and services including government procurement opportunities, insurance, financing, licensing requirements, business planning and more.
5 GREAT REASONS TO ATTEND
Need more reasons to attend? Devin H. Cleary, Senior Vice President of Event Management, Producer of the XPO, has five:
- Network and meet over 15,000 small business owners & executives: No matter how much socializing you do on Twitter and Facebook, it’s really all about the face-to-face. Build relationships with existing contacts and meet new ones.
- Attend 40+ cutting-edge seminars that will teach innovative strategies to help GROW your business: You grow through learning. Why not learn from experts in their fields?
- Meet world-renowned keynote speakers and leading business experts: It’s inspiring to meet people who have forged new paths in business. Who knows? Some of their good luck just might rub off on you.
- Learn about industry trends and emerging technologies: It can be hard to tap into what’s happening when you’re working in your business. So take the day to immerse yourself in what’s happening in your industry. And work on your business, not just in it.
- Find solutions to business challenges: Ever feel like you’re the only one experiencing a particular problem? The great thing about networking with other business owners is that you discover others are struggling with similar issues. You’re bound to get ideas about how to tackle these challenges.
MEET YOUR FAVORITE SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS EXPERTS!
Small Business Trends CEO, Anita Campbell, will be speaking at the event, along with her co-author of the Visual Marketing book, David Langton of Langton Cherubino Group. Their presentation, “Make Your Brand Unforgettable with Visual Marketing,” will be 12:30-1:30 – Seminar room #6 on the show floor. The authors will also be signing copies of their book in booth 568. Drop by to meet them and pick up your exclusive BizSugar tote bag.
Other speakers, in alphabetical order, will include: Melinda Emerson (Succeed as Your Own Boss), Rieva Lesonsky (Grow Biz Media), Joel Libava (The Franchise King), Ramon Ray (SmallBizTechnology.com), Deborah Shane (DeborahShane.com).
Join in — it will be exciting to connect and network!
EVENT DETAILS
LOCATION: Jarvis Center, 55 West 34th Street New York, NY 10001
WHEN: November 16, 2011
TWITTER: @NewYorkXpo and #NYXPO
YOUTUBE: New York XPO
REGISTER: Register here.
Top 5 Reasons You Should Attend the New York XPO
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