News and Resources

The usual way to get information out to the media is to send out a press release. These are usually faxed or posted out to the media with a news story that you want them to cover. Use your judgement on whether to send out a press release.

Send them regularly, but bombarding editors for the sake of it will put them off. If you've missed deadlines, don't bother.

Tips for writing a press release:

» Read More

Growing up I was surrounded by entrepreneurs. All of my uncles on my mom’s side of the family ran successful businesses, and I learned that working for yourself was a great way to improve your lifestyle.

No surprise then that I now own a few businesses of my own. But I made lots of mistakes getting started, mistakes I could’ve avoided if I’d known a few things.

Here are seventeen mistakes that you should avoid:

» Read More

Email open rates continued to languish in 2010, though performance levels varied dramatically by industry, whereas click rates improved during the year, according to a report by MailerMailer, which also found that most people tend to open email between seven and ten in the morning.

The average overall unique open rate* at the end of 2010 was 11.4%, up 0.2 percentage points from 11.2% a year earlier.

» Read More

Are you stumped on ways to grow your business? Check out these 10 ideas to give your business the growth spurt it needs.

1) Organize and Focus Your Energy

You have 4 types of energy-time, physical energy, mental energy, money energy. The first 3 are finite, meaning you can’t increase the amount that you have; only the way you use them. The 4th, money, increases as a result of your use of the other 3. If you use the majority of your work time, mental and physical energy to focus on your top, income generating activities your business will boom. Stop wasting time on administrative tasks, answering phone calls that are not important (get caller ID), constantly checking e-mail (this is tendency I’m working on), and other non-priority tasks. Monitor and rate yourself on your time use everyday for a week and you’ll be amazed at what you find.

» Read More

You attended a conference and met some new contacts. You’re in line at the grocery store and start chatting with another customer about your job and exchange business cards. Whether you know it or not…you’re networking.

Networking is something that is always mentioned in conjunction with your career. And it’s often that networking will help you land your next job.

Here are a few reasons to take networking seriously:

» Read More

Though Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as a whole can become a rather complicated technique, there are several steps that just about any small business owner can take to optimize his website and increase the chances of it appearing in organic search results. Most small businesses are locally-focused – that is, they cater to or offer their services to their local community.

» Read More

Many individuals represent themselves as qualified consultants. These people often represent themselves as experts in specific fields of endeavor, with special skills, knowledge and expertise that makes paying their sometimes exorbitant fee justifiable, and even a necessity. Many so called experts are simply trying to set some product, service or program that often benefits the consultant to a greater degree than the organization.

» Read More

Google Instant Search is now live. Did you notice it? Google Instant Search is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type. In other words, it basically predicts what a searcher is looking for.

» Read More

The term "marketing mix" was first used in 1953 when Neil Borden, in his American Marketing Association presidential address, took the recipe idea one step further and coined the term "marketing-mix". A prominent marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed a 4 P classification in 1960, which has seen wide use. The four Ps concept is explained in most marketing textbooks and classes.

» Read More

What the heck is social media and what role does it play in my marketing? This is probably a question I wouldn't have received two years ago, but yet today it's the most common question that enters my inbox.

First off, let's talk about what social media is. Social media represents low-cost tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words. These tools are typically internet or mobile based. A few that you have probably heard of include Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.

» Read More