25
Jan

Blogging for Business: What Can YOU Tell Customers the Competition Can’t?

The advice is everywhere: You should be blogging about your business! But how does a small-business owner get started? What do I write about? And who has the time? As I’ve written before (see “Three Reasons Your Website Needs a Blog”), blogs are no longer online journals. They are easy-to-use formats for giving your customers/clients, both current and potential, chunks …

Read More
14
Jan

Do You Know Your Target Audience as Well as the Tourism Folks in Jerome, Arizona Do?

Some places advertise their sunsets or beaches. Others promote their hiking trails. Or local wineries. Or ski slopes. Or great shopping and nightlife. The historic (and, some say, haunted) mining town of Jerome, Arizona welcomes visitors with the announcement, “ROAD OPEN 365 DAYS A YEAR.” What a great example of knowing your target audience!

Read More
28
Oct

Viral Marketing and the Samsung Safety Truck

“Doing well by doing good” is a cliché. But like many such overused phrases in marketing and advertising, just because “doing well by doing good” is a cliché doesn’t mean it’s untrue. Samsung’s recent initiative to lower road fatalities in Argentina, and the corresponding “Samsung Safety Truck” video, is a good example.

Read More
10
Aug

3 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Efforts

So you’ve figured out which social media outlet or outlets are the best fit for your business and your target audience. As a small-business owner or sole proprietor, you probably haven’t figured out how to squeeze 25 hours into a 24-hour day! Here are a few ideas for finding the time to maintain your social media presence.

Read More
11
Feb

Why You NEED to Start Sending Out Postcards

I wrote recently about “How NOT to Design a Postcard.” Today I’m giving you four good reasons to start using these marketing tools now. 1) Postcards are a cost-effective use of your marketing dollars. Newspaper ads and radio ads are beyond the budget of many small-business owners. But almost any business can afford postcards – which offer a big impact …

Read More
2
Dec

Last-Minute Ideas for Promoting Your Business This Holiday Season

Three things you could accomplish before lunch today! 1) Spread some smiles by supporting a local fundraiser. Is there a Scout troop or school group selling wreaths in your town? By now those hard-working kids (and their parents) are probably getting a little worried they won’t sell all they have left. Give ’em a hand by offering to take a …

Read More