July 23rd, 2010
Often times people think of advertising and marketing as one and the same. It’s no wonder! We watch new stories and articles that talk about marketing strategy while at the same time we’re hit with advertisements on just about any medium you can think of: the back of the tray table in an airplane, on the side of a bus, on your mobile phone, in your web browser, on television … the list goes on!
But the distinction between the two is important, especially for business owners. Advertising is a component of marketing. It is the deliberate packaging and delivery of a message to the general public intended to 
influence the decision making process.
Marketing, on the other hand, is a catch-all word that covers all activities related to causing a buy/sell transaction to occur … that includes advertising!
For some additional reading, check out the Wikipedia entries for Advertising and Marketing.
July 16th, 2010
Who ever said that email marketing must be one-way push marketing? Sure, by the very nature of the medium, an email newsletter or email blast begins with one-way communication. But there are several techniques that you can employ to transform that one-way communication into a dialogue, engaging readers who are interested in you, in the content of your email blast, in your services and in your company! Here are a few:
1. Use the word “You” in the title and body of your articles. Talk directly to and with your reader and ask open ended questions, being sure to suggest how they can respond (a link to your Facebook wall? A reply-to email address?)
2. Include a clear call to action. And include it more than once! What are you trying to accomplish through your email blast? Do you want readers to visit your blog to comment on a particular post? Do you want them to check out your new video spokesperson on your website (check out ours!). Do you want them to visit your Yelp profile or your Merchant Circle profile and to leave a review? Then ask!
3. This one is a no-brainer these days, but still worth mentioning. Be sure to include links to all of your social media assets and encourage people to visit them, to follow you and to contribute to the dialogue. At a minimum, include a link to your Facebook Page, your Twitter profile and your blog.
Give those three suggestions a try. Stop back to this post and leave us a comment with your success stories or your challenges in using these tactics to transform your email communications!
June 28th, 2010
If you’re not yet using Skype for your business, you definitely want to read this post!
Skype is a really cool utility that allows you to make voice and video calls over the internet … for FREE in most cases! You can also make conference calls and IM, transfer files and share screens, among other things. Skype also 
offers pay services like Skype to land line phones and mobiles for very low rates. (You can, however, use the Skype app on your phone to take advantage of the free services! I’ve tested it on the iPhone 4 and it works great! So, in essence, you can make a Skype call from your phone to a PC or another mobile using the Skype app without using any minutes!).
All of this is to say that by using Skype, you can save money. And saving money improves your company’s bottom line! Getting started is easy – you simply download Skype to your computer, and follow the prompts to set up your account. You can search for other people you know on Skype as well as encourage those that you call a great deal to also begin using Skype.
Skype is one of those tools that just makes sense for business owners. Take a few minutes to explore the website, download the app, sign up and then save money!
