Email Tips for SMB

Posted on February 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

I recently watched a great short video on Entrepreneur.com from blogger Chris Brogan.  The video offered a few great tips for small business engaging in email.  You can watch the video here but below is a summary of what he had to say.

Chris quoted a survey from 2011 that said 4% of potential buyers over 18 can be reached via Twitter; 15% can be reached on Facebook; but 91% are willing to receive regular email communication from a brand they use.  It’s safe to say that effective email marketing is far from dead.  The important question is what makes it effective.  Below are a couple of tips to hold up against your email marketing, particularly as more people read them on 3-inch devices.

  1. Simple and brief emails are best.  300-400 words max with one simple call to action.
  2. Do not send from “do not reply” email addresses.  You are telling your customers you have no interest in speaking with them, which does NOT foster a good relationship.  Instead use a real address and encourage your recipients to respond to you.
  3. Simple text is best.  Large images won’t necessarily work on that 3-inch Blackberry, Andriod or iPhone screen.
  4. How often you send emails depends upon your business and what you are sending.  Obviously daily deal sites send daily emails but that isn’t necessarily the best for everyone.

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LinkedIn for SMB

Posted on February 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

If you are like me you think of LinkedIn as a place to keep your resumes and maintain contact with past employers and co-workers.  In recent months though LinkedIn has transformed their site into a full-blown business-networking site SMBs should really invest time in.  As a member of the site you can join groups and get involved in discussions.  I am a member of the Small Business Network, Social Media Boot Camp, and HP Business Answers to name a few.

Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are great but LinkedIn may be the best time use for a business owner no matter what the size of your business.  LinkedIn claims over 135 million members in 200 countries and one of the largest Internet marketing research companies listed them as the #2 social networking site online.  

 I found a great article on Small Business Trends offering a few tips to get started.

If you want a simple introduction as to how and why to use LinkedIn check out this user-friendly, 8-minute video by Jim Kukral on SmallBizTrends.  Even if you have used the site before this video provides great reminders about how to participant in the site.

The New User Starter Guide is really simple to use and explains setting up your account in getting started in 3 easy steps.  The site also provides a short video on Small Business use on the site.  Additionally, as small business entrepreneurs, you may find the section explaining benefits to your group particularly helpful.  Some of the items covered on this section are making important personnel decisions, filling hard-to-fill positions, and generating awareness for your business.

Recommendations are an amazing tool LinkedIn provides.  Check out Elements of a Good LinkedIn Recommendation for tips on what to say and how to ask.

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Yelp Reviews: A great tool for Word-of-Mouth Advertising

Posted on February 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

On January 31, the Gaspedal blog offered great word of mouth advice on getting Yelp reviews.  In case you are not familiar, Yelp is a website with over 61 million monthly visitors reading over 22 million reviews on local businesses.  I use Yelp all the time.  I have the app on my phone as well.  That way if I am in an area I am unfamiliar and hungry I can look up restaurants and what other customers have to say about them.  It isn’t only restaurants though.  I can look up everything from dry cleaners to chiropractors to auto mechanics.  Reviews are the Holy Grail on these sites, so it’s important to get those reviews.

Gaspedal recommended three tips for getting reviews on Yelp.

  1. Remind your customers.  Put signs on tables, receipts, business cards, and remind them on the way out the door.  People are often self-motivated to post negative reviews so it’s important to encourage the positive reviewers to post about you as well.
  2. Link to your Yelp profile.  Create these links on your website, your email signature, and your newsletters.    Don’t forget that strangers may already be heading to the Yelp page so make sure your loyal customers are making their voices heard.
  3. Reply and respond.  Like any social media community, the more you get involved the better.  If you do receive a review respond with goodwill.  Thank the positive reviews but leave it at that.  No gifts or incentives.  A simple thank you will suffice.  If it is a negative review, thank them for their patronage and feedback.  If you can be specific about the customer’s experience and changes you made as a result then mention that as well.

 As a member of the NALA our eListing product automatically creates a Yelp profile for you but can do nothing to help you get reviews.  That requires your own Word of Mouth.  Hopefully the above tips help. 

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Google’s New Privacy Policy…what does it mean?

Posted on January 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

Tuesday Google announced they are revising the privacy policy of 60 of their services, to bring them all under one privacy policy umbrella.  As an avid Google user, I received an email from Google alerting me to this change this morning.  I’m not much of an alarmist on this sort of thing but I use Google for everything.  I have a Gmail account, use Google Calendar, Google search, an Android phone, have posted a couple videos on YouTube, use Chrome as my browser and Picasa to store and share photos.  Just in case some of you are Google users too, I thought I’d share some of what I discovered.

 I found a good article on the subject from the Washington Post.  I have the highlights here but check out the full article or read the new Google policy for yourself.

The new policy will unify up to 60 services under one policy, enabling those services to share information about you.  The only sites excluded from this are Google Books, Google Wallet, and Google Chrome, due to regulatory and technical issues.  Should the regulations permit or the technical issues be resolved I’m sure they will bring these into the fold as well.  If you sign in to a Google product other than these three, you must agree to this policy.  If you do not want your data shared you must close your Google accounts; all of them.  Collecting all this data in one place will help them get a fuller picture of who you are, what you are interested in, and how you spend your time online.

The information they collect is anything from calendar appointments and location data, to contacts, information about your smartphone, and what you search for.  Google’s stated purpose for collecting your information is to create a more intuitive experience for you.  For example, the ads you view will be based on the data they collect.  Additionally, lets say you are driving in traffic and your Android phone knows where you are by GPS.  It also knows you have a meeting and the traffic in the area, so it sends you a reminder so you will not be late.  Sounds helpful as long as you don’t mind the technology keeping such close tabs on you. 

Some people will see the changes as progress enabling them to do more from one resource.  Others will view this as an invasion of privacy.  It’s up to each individual consumer to decide and opt in or opt out

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Grow your business by supporting your community

Posted on January 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

I found a great article on chron.com called How to Grow a Business by Helping Non Profit Organizations.  The article spoke about the benefits of partnering with local nonprofit organizations.   Building your business through nonprofit support is broken down into four simple steps.

  1. Survey your employees to determine what charities or causes they care most about.  Writing a check is nice but growing your business requires a more hands-on approach that may incorporate asking employees to participate in some way.  If they are invested in the charity you choose they will be invested in the participation.
  2. Select an organization that relates to your business’ mission and vision.  For example, if your company sells urban apparel, you might partner with a local mission or church to solicit clothing donations at your store.  You can offer a small discount on a purchase to each customer who donates.
  3. Organize the effort with the nonprofit organization.  If you are working with a local food bank, allow the organization to direct your company’s food collection efforts.  Many volunteer projects are large annual events that garner media coverage and community recognition, and your non profit partner will have more experience producing and promoting the event.  Take a cooperative, supportive role in the project.  Resisting the urge to take over a project often guarantees that your company will be asked to partner on future events.
  4. Publicize the effort using public relations.  The nonprofit will definitely publicize the project, and want to mention your company’s role in the effort in exchange for you help.  However, don’t overlook your own opportunity to publicize your involvement.  The NALA members can use the Press Release benefit to publicize their event.  With a simple order form, the NALA helps members to design and distribute a Press Release to the appropriate print and broadcast outlets.  Members choose from specific state and distribution in over 5,500 websites including Google, Yahoo, Yahoo News, Forbes, and numerous business journals and television station websites.  To learn more check out theNALA.com or email us at info@theNALA.com.
  5. Encourage employees to enthusiastically support and promote the company’s efforts.  Participation will boost the success of the overall effort and encourage the nonprofit to approach you again with partnering opportunities to grow your business.
  6. The NALA members can offer charity partners a free listing in the NALA Charity Directory.  This free directory is part of the NALA’s continuing goal to support local businesses supporting their local communities. 

The NALA partners with worthy causes that benefit our communities, our nation and the world.  To learn more check out http://thenala.com/charities

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Copyright Law & Good Manners

Posted on January 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

Seth Godin’s Blog is one of my favorites.  He often writes about topics I need clarity on but rarely think to ask.  This week he talked about Copyright protection and what is called Fair Use.  I thought I’d share the broad strokes here.

 As Seth explains, Fair Use allows us to compare one copyrighted work with another, to provide commentary or comedy.  We are not allowed to make someone else’s work appear as our own or suggest the author of the work we are citing has endorsed us in some way. 

 The law states: 

  1. Linking to someone else’s website as I have done here with Seth’s blog does not require permission.
  2. Providing the screenshot of a site in a directory or comment or parody of a website does not require permission.
  3. Quoting a book, article or website does not require permission unless what you are quoting is a poem or song.
  4. If you don’t own a photo, don’t post it.  Commenting on that photo is the exception, but generally it’s best to use your own work.  According to another blog I found on this subject, every photograph is considered intellectual property of the person who took the photo.  Even if the photographer doesn’t state it is copyrighted, it is.   While the original photographer might not care, he or she does have grounds to come after you for copyright infringement.

Good manners is another story.   The content for this post comes entirely from Seth Godin’s blog and I have made that clear.  I also always link back to the original blog and any other sites I may refer to.   Giving credit where credit is due is just good manners.

So if you are creating emails, webpages, blogs, or posting in social media don’t forget to practice good manners and the law.

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Top 10 Small Business Owners New Years Resolutions

Posted on December 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

I thought these resolutions from Mashable.com were too good not to share.  If you come up with any others please let me know! 

  1. Support Small Business.  If you want your neighbors to support your small business, begin by supporting their small business.  Look through your list of vendors and service providers and see if it’s possible to downsize and support a small business instead.
  2. Go Mobile.  By 2015 more US Internet users will connect to the web through mobile devices than computers.  As this community increases are you ready?  Something simple such as making sure your business address and phone number are text on your website as opposed to an image.  Text can be clicked on by a mobile phone to automatically call the number or find the location on a map. 
  3. Go local.  Mobile users constantly interact with things in their physical vicinity.  According to Bing 53% of searches are local-based.  Don’t miss out!  Make sure you are listed with local search engines and directories.  If you are a member of the NALA and an eListing customer you are!
  4. Learn how to delegate and do more of it.  When economic times are tough it’s tempting to tighten the purse strings and take on more yourself.  Unfortunately, that means you will have less time to grow your business.  Hand over administrative tasks so you can focus your attention on bringing in revenue.
  5. Invest in one new customer touch point.  Where do your customers spend their time?  Facebook, Twitter, blogs, email?  Try asking where and how they would like to connect with you and spend some time this year making it happen.
  6. Refresh your website.  Keep your site current and interesting.
  7. Protect your assets with an LLC or corporation.  Forming an LLC or corporation can be critical to protect your business and personal financial health.  To learn more about the difference.  Check out Why Should I Incorporate for more information on the two options and why one might choose one over the other. 
  8. Get your books ready for tax time early.  If you are like me this is always a last minute, stressful experience.  It doesn’t have to be.  Start organizing your 2012 books from day one and it won’t be.
  9. Social network in the real world.  In 2012 try networking offline by attending industry specific conferences or seeking out local meet up groups.  Developing relationships with fellow entrepreneurs can be an invaluable resource for business owners.
  10. Put time on your calendar for you.  As a business owner, you don’t have a boss giving you pats on the back and rewards for meeting milestones.  Bosses do this to keep their employees motivated and prevent burnout.  Do the same for yourself.  Reward yourself for specific milestones and keep yourself motivated too.

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Tools to live the dream…a manageable email inbox!

Posted on December 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

Time management experts say that one key to better time management today is checking emails at intervals as opposed to every time one arrives.  Email inboxes, or at least my email inbox is overwhelming.  The mass influx of emails I don’t need cloud the emails I do and it’s all just too much.  Mashable posted a great article the other day called 7 Simple Tools for Email Sanity and I have been obsessed with it ever since.   I added the first tool as it addresses my primary problem…an email account approaching capacity.   Let me know if you try any of these or if you have other suggestions. 

  1. The Email Game:  I have too many emails in my inbox.  My Gmail account is nearly at capacity.  I dread going through it but this little tool peaked my competitive/gaming spirit. 
  2. AwayFind knows we obsessively check our email when we are expecting something important.  They created a program that will alert us via SMS or IM when we receive that email so we can stop driving our families crazy at the dinner table…checking emails only to find Facebook and Twitter notifications.
  3. Boomerang adds a button to Gmail or Outlook allowing you to schedule emails to be automatically sent.  They also help you remind yourself to respond to important messages, by specifying when you want them to appear at the top of your inbox again.
  4. Otherinbox’s Organizer allows you to file messages from commercial entities into handy folders such as “shopping” or “newsletters.”  Allows you to keep those low-priority emails out of your primary inbox until you have time to peruse them. (I’m testing this one today!)
  5. PowerInbox  allows you to act on notifications for apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ without navigating to another page.  For instance a Facebook email will allow you to write comments on a friend’s photos without navigating away with the help of this tool.
  6. Rapportive shows you everything about your contacts from inside your inbox.  When you receive an email, this tool will pull up their picture, job title, and social media updates/accounts.  
  7. ToutApp cuts down on the time you spend copying, pasting, and attaching files.  The app makes it easy to create and save email templates so repetitive emails are a snap.  It also tracks when a recipient opens an email.
  8. Tungle.me puts an end to the back and forth process of scheduling a meeting.  It syncs with your calendars to show your availability.  The recipient can simply select a time when you are both free and the selection is then automatically added to your calendar.

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Engaging your Facebook Fan Base

Posted on December 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

The tech news headlines are chock-full of stories about Facebook, their IPO plans, their recent purchase of a location-based service company called Gowalla, and even questioning if the social media giant has hit it’s peak and is on it’s way down.  One thing is for sure, for today Facebook has the potential to be a powerful marketing and networking tool for your business.

Smallbiztrends.com posted an article in November entitled Best Ways to Engage Your Customers on Facebook that offered some sound advice I don’t want you to miss out on.

Not all Facebook posts are created equal.  A recent study posted by the Wall Street Journal reported that while the cost of buying followers with Facebook ads are on the rise, the click-through rate is actually decreasing.  I believe that the best way to increase your fan base, is by creating fan engagement through posting updates and photos your fans share with their friends.

Likes and Comments are two of the best ways to increase engagement but photos are the big winner.  Photos tend to generate 50% more interactions than other post types.  Think about your business.  What type of photos can you post to engage your fans?

Additional engagement suggestions are asking questions, offering interesting quotes, and posting videos.  Your type of business may dictate the best form of engagement for you.

I am a Fan of a restaurant in my area that I frequent.  One afternoon I noticed they were offering a free drink to anyone who presented their Smartphone with the Facebook page to the cashier.  While the $1.25 drink savings is nice, what it really did create a craving for their food that manifested in a take out order on the way home.  Because I am quite the social networker, I shared this savings on my page so other friends might take advantage of it.  I gladly provided free marketing to the restaurant by passing their message along.

For more suggestions on increasing engagement, contact your NALA Team Member.

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Is your business Smartphone ready?

Posted on November 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

Everywhere I look from advertising to the people on the street, in restaurants, and in my local dry cleaners people are tinkering away on an iPhone, Android or Blackberry.  I live in Los Angeles so it might be truer here than other parts of the country, but across the country smartphones account for 1/3 of the mobile market.   eMarketer predicts by 2014 one in three U.S. citizens will be using a tablet of some kind as well. 

That means when people search for your business they often do so online from their smartphone.  When people need your business address, they look it up on the way to the car from their smartphone.  If customers are wondering if you have any discounts or coupons available, I’m betting they would appreciate getting that information from their smartphone. 

You don’t have to build a mobile website to be ready.  I found an article called Think Beyond the Desktop on Clickz with a few simple tips I thought I would share here. 

  1. Your address, phone number and email should be text.  A smartphone will allow the user to dial, email, plug into GPS or into a contact list if it is text.  If it is an image the user has to write it down or plug it in manually.  This is inconvenient. 
  2. Dump the Flash.  The upside of flash is that people cannot steal your images.  The downside is that on the iPhone your site will not come up at all, on the Android and Blackberry it will be slow and you will encounter the same problem I mentioned with #1.
  3. Test how your site looks in a mobile platform.  If you have a customer designed site make sure you or the person who designed it for you verifies how it looks on mobile and fixes and rendering issues.
  4. What apps are your customers using?  Are they on Facebook?  Do they check in with Foursquare?  If they do, are you on Facebook?  Have your registered your business on Foursquare?

 As a NALA member, your business is mobile ready with your directory listing on the NALA site.  If you are not using social media yet, ask your NALA team member what you can do.  Not a NALA member yet?  Learn about membership here. 

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