Website Advertising, Straight Talk On Making It Work

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It's time that someone does straight talk about making a website successful and I am going to try and to that today. Hold on to your socks and pay attention because if you get this you've got it.

OK, lets get started.
We all know about people out there claiming they can help make your website a success. There are the "marketing" experts that say you have to focus on keywords and optimize your website for those keywords. However, what they don't say is that a half million people are using the same tactic for the same keyword and if you use that key word in search engine marketing campaigns, the price of getting noticed goes up substantially.
Now, I'm no math genius, but if a half million people are trying the same tactic for the same keyword, and only 10 listings can be at the top of a search engine listing, I estimate that there are going to be a lot of people left frustrated with the results of their hard work and marketing expenditures. Putting in money, time and work and getting very little benefit is difficult to swallow and discouraging.

Sure, the search engines tend to juggle the listings around now and then. But for the most part, the amount of work done doesn't yield the desired result for most. Website owner's start to feel like they are all alone and that no one cares about their website and what they are trying to accomplish. Am I right so far?

Truth be told, it's true. No one cares. That is the whole reason that marketing is necessary. They don't care about your website or product. What they care about most is the problem they have in their life. It doesn't have to be a dramatic problem like a police officer banging on their door after finding out they have done something illegal. It can be something as simple as a clogged sink. But the fact is that you need to look for their problem and cater to solving it. Making yourself useful however isn't as simple as that. Sometimes they don't know they have a problem or they aren't bothered by the problem enough to search out a solution. That is where you come in. You should always inform the user of the problem before attempting to sell them anything. The reason for this is that if they are aware of the problem, you have identified with them and they have identified with your website. If they weren't previously aware of the problem, they get educated about it and the first solution they know for what bothers them is what you are selling.

Now that we have covered that, we can get to the meat of what this article is about. If you are looking for the same old marketing rhetoric and cliché-laden commentary you are in the wrong place. If you are looking to make your website a success, keep reading. I'm not pulling any punches today.

OK, have you ever heard the term "click through"? Sure you have. So-called marketing experts have bombarded website owners with this term for years. In many cases, website owners adopt terminology that they hear without properly processing it's meaning or benefit. Click thoughs should not be the standard by which you measure your website's performance. So, stop it right now. Remember the statement that no one cares about your website? You have to make them care. You should change your standard of measurement to Read-Throughs. (I'll show you how to get read - throughs further on) Click Thoughs and Read Throughs are not the same thing.
You can easily have a million click throughs and still not make one sell. However, it is highly unlikely that you can have a million read throughs and not make a sell.

Why is this you ask? A click through is a very non-committal thing. If you will check your website logs you will find that many click thoughs last only 5 seconds or less. In these instances, what have you gained from the transaction? What can you explain in 5 seconds? Not much. If you don't get the opportunity to explain why your site or product is so great or why they need to consider your site as one of their online hangouts to be revisited, what have you gained? You gain nothing but frustration as you consistently watch your goals go unmet.

Remember, the statement no one cares about your website. Again, it remains true. However, Read Thoughs have the power to change the whole equation. Irrespective of why a person arrives at your website, if you get a read though, you have the powerful opportunity to shape their thinking. Think I am kidding? Consider this.

I was recently in the market for a new cell phone. Being a businessman and having heard glowing reports about the Black Berry phone I went to buy the phone at a store. When I got there, I was fascinated with the sleek lightweight device I had heard so much about. I talked to a sales person and noticed that he had a black berry on his hip. The manager came over, and guess what? He had a black berry on his hip as well. I thought wow; those phones must be the very best. Now here comes the shocker. As I spoke with them about all that I wanted to do with the phone. They began to explain to me that the BB could not create Word documents, PowerPoint documents and Excel spread sheets, it could only view them if someone sent you one. He explained to me that if I wanted to have that type of in-depth use of the phone, I needed to go with the ATT Tilt cell phone which I had barely heard anything about. I asked why they carried a BB and I got two answers "I don't know" and "I just like it". That wasn't enough for me. I bought the Tilt and I love it.

Millions of dollars went into the advertising of the Black Berry; I saw examples of people using it and these were people that had the choice of carrying any phone they wanted. Yet, when they conveyed to me the benefits of the ATT Tilt my mind was changed. I made the purchase and haven't looked back.

I said all of that to say this. Your website is your 24 hour convincer. It should be designed and written to capture the curious and lead them to a purchase. However, without true communication, the ability to do that is lost. A click through is the equivalent of getting the customer through the door. A read through is getting the customer through the door and speaking with him about why your product is so great and why he/she needs it.
I was in the market for a particular product and because of communicated benefits, I ended up buying a totally different product which cost $40 more.

Your competition is the BB. Whether your product is the best or not is debatable but as you can see, it is often enough just to get the potential buyer to know more about your product than the competitions. I had heard about the BB I was ready to buy. I later heard about the Tilt and the sale was made. I submit to you that the more one learns about a product and how it fits their need or problem, the more likely they are to buy it. Or the more a person learns about a website and how it meets their need, the more likely they are to revisit it over and over again. Look in your own bookmarks, and you will find website's that truly communicated with you. What percentage of websites that you have visited got placed in your bookmarks? A very small percentage I'm sure. The ones in your bookmarks provided something that you needed or wanted and the only way they could have shown you that is by true communication/Read Through.

OK, how do you convert your click throughs to read throughs? It is quite simple actually. You have to make your potential visitors care enough about your text to read every word of it.
To do this you simply use a tactic called error marketing. Error marketing is the method of drawing web surfer's to your web properties by offering a small monetary reward to them for help in locating certain types of errors on your website. You can do this really easily by listing your website on low cost advertising websites like TypoBounty dot com.
Web surfers come to your website and read every word offered on your website for an opportunity to find an error. That's how you make them care about your text. In the mean time they read more of what you have to offer and consider your entire sales pitch. The best part is that because they spend more time on your website, reading every word, they remember your website and products. This increases the likelihood of increased product sells.
The benefit of advertising for less than 10 dollars and causing web surfers to catch the full impact of your sales pitch as they read everything you have to offer, while perfecting your website simultaneously is invaluable to website owners.

Make them care about your text and let your text convince them to buy. Using Error Marketing techniques through sites like TypoBounty dot com accomplishes this. You basically put your website's success on auto-pilot.

By: John Reeder

The author, John Reed, has 15 years business marketing experience and has had the opportunity to use and review multiple online businesses and strategies. You can read more about avoiding the money trap of music downloads at www.moneymakingtoolbar.com

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Avoid These Common Mistakes When Advertising For Your Business

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If you are offering a product for sale or maybe a new service for hire, then it goes without saying, that you need to advertise. Yes the dreaded "A" word. All of us in business must do it, otherwise you will either go out of business very quickly, or your customers will be nothing more than friends and relatives.

Here are some thoughts to keep in mind when creating your advertising campaign. To start, do not over think the process. What I mean by that is, yes, you want to think outside the box, but don`t get too crazy, where your advertising has become so creative, that no one has any idea what the heck you are trying to sell to them. I am sure you have experienced this yourself as a consumer. You are watching TV and a commercial comes on so you sit through it. At the end of it, you sit their and wonder, what in the world are they selling. I know I have experienced this, and so have others. Do not fall into that trap.

Often, often often! What does this mean? It means, run your advertising as often as your budget will allow. Do not run it today, then wait 60 days to run it again. Studies have shown that consumers must be exposed to advertising on average about 5 to 7 times before they make a move and purchase something from a company. Using that information, you will need to get yourself out there 7 times to start gaining some customers. If you wait in between advertising segments, it will be like starting over every time you run it. So get your name out there often.

In business there is nothing better than the impulse buy. A lot of consumers will impulse buy if they feel they are getting a great deal. They understand real numbers, so saying "buy right now!", won`t work. What you want to do is offer them a huge discount, as much as 35% to 40%, if your budget will allow, then show them the real price. So if you are selling a widget, and it normally sells for $19.99, let the consumer know, that if they act right now, it will only cost them $12.99 (or a number that meets your budget). The discount has to be significant enough for the consumer to act on it right there and then. 10% to 20% hardly ever does it.

Avoid using catch phrases, such as "you must act right now in order to get this discount", or "we only have a limited number left". These statements are more destructive to your ad campaign then constructive. Instead set a deadline. I saw a real good one the other day for someone trying to sell their home. The headline read, "If under contract by Sunday 8:00pm, I will reduce the asking by $45,000". The price drop was a significant one, and it sets a deadline for someone to act on it, limiting their time.

If you offer coupons in your business make sure you put a code on the coupon so you can keep track of which advertising medium it comes from. This way you can track exactly where you should emphasize more advertising dollars.

Finally, do not neglect current customers. Most of the time there is no better resource then consumers who have already purchased your product or used your service. Get their feedback on what they would like to see changed in regards to what you are offering. Remember, all criticism is helpful, regardless of how negative it comes across. We`ll get to criticism in another article, but for now, know that you can learn from all criticism that you receive. As you receive feedback, if you notice patterns from multiple customers such as hearing from 5 to 10 of them that they would like to see your widget in purple, then consider making a purple widget. You get the point.

By: Bruce A. Tucker



About the Author:
Bruce A. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com. http://www.Indocquent.com is an online resource that allows businesses and individuals to post their products and services for sale in 20,000 cities throughout 200 countries around the world.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Is a Pop-Up Display Right for Your Business?

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You’re new to trade shows. Pop-ups are excellent entry-level displays—they’re easy to deal with, don’t need to be shipped, and cost much less than other displays. Most businesses choose pop-up displays for their first trade show, and of these, many never upgrade to fancier models. If you’re making your first trade show appearance, it’s probably not the time to get a pricey custom display built. Try out the trade show scene with an economical pop-up, build some experience, and then upgrade if you need to.

If you need an easy set-up. If you’re going to trade shows by yourself, you’ll need something you can set up without help. If you can’t carry a heavy weight, you’ll need a booth that folds into a convenient wheeled case. And if you’re not technologically inclined, you’ll need something you can set up without tools. Pop-up displays are the easiest to set up—so if you need a booth you can put up in minutes without headaches or hassles, a pop-up is definitely a good choice for you.

If your budget is small. Pop-ups are more economical than modular, panel, and custom displays. They make it possible for smaller businesses to have a presence at trade shows without breaking the budget. The price of a pop-up can vary considerably depending on the type of graphics and printing technology you use, but it’s still possible to get a well-designed pop-up display for less than you would spend for other types of booths. If your company is new or still in its growth stage, a pop-up display may be just what you need to get going.

If you plan on traveling a lot. Most pop-up displays fold up in minutes, pack easily into a wheeled case, and fit in the trunk of a car. If you plan on making the rounds to several trade shows in a year, you can save considerably on shipping if you use a pop-up display. You’ll also deal with less hassle in the set-up and tear-down process. Pop-ups are much more lightweight than other types on the market—your employees will thank you for buying one.

If you want to make a big visual impact—without paying a lot. Some companies buy modular or custom displays because they want to stand out from the crowds on the trade show floor. And there’s no question that a custom display can make a big impression. But not all pop-up displays are created alike, and you may be able to stand out just as effectively by choosing a unique pop-up design. 3-D pop-ups are the newest designs on the market; they come in a multitude of shapes, from round to rectangular to trapezoidal. Lighting can also make a big difference. Some pop-ups come with luminescent fabrics and interior lights that give the display an inner glow. These options will definitely make your booth stand out, for much less than you’d pay for a custom or modular display.

If you need flexibility. Pop-up displays are designed to be flexible, with removable graphic material that can be easily changed if you need to alter your look. Companies planning to use the same display for several shows with varying themes might well consider a pop-up instead of a different booth for each show.

If you generally use the same size space. Pop-up displays might be flexible in terms of graphics, but it’s not usually easy to change their size. Pop-ups include an accordion frame that must fold out completely to be stable, so if you’ve got a three-metre display in a five-metre space, there’s not a lot you can do to get your display to fill the space. Most trade show spaces are three metres in length, so unless you’re going for a large or unusually-shaped space on purpose for visual impact, you should be fine with the standard size.

Pop-up displays are convenient and affordable—it’s no wonder they’re the preferred type of display at most trade shows. Pop-ups are the best option out there for most businesses, so it’s likely that they’re a good choice for yours. A good pop-up display should bring you success at trade shows for years to come.

by Dimi Petrova

Information on Just Displays a exhibition and displays company. A wide range of exhibition services are available including conference stands, signage, portable displays, light boxes and POS stands. Based in Essex UK.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

How To Use Advertising In Your Business

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by Alyice Edrich

How important is advertising? It can make or break your business. People need to know you exist, what you have to offer, and how they can get what you have.



No business can succeed without proper ad placement. Advertising is very important to the success of any business venture. If you don`t have the money to advertise in a national publication, advertise locally. If you can`t afford to advertise locally, think outside the box. How can you advertise your business inexpensively, yet still show yourself as a "professional"?



A one-time placement in your local newspaper, on television, on the radio, or in a national publication will be a total waste of your time, money, and effort. Consumers need to see your product a minimum of 7 to 10 times before they will even consider ordering your product or service. Your best bet would be to purchase a business-size card ad, with two or three colors, a graphic, and a bit of information about your product or service. Advertise in the same publication for six months. If after three months the advertisement doesn`t trigger any new sales or clients, change the ad, but keep it in the same publication.



Last year, we had a new coffee shop open up in town. Though many coffee shops have come and gone, this one picked up gusto and earned enough revenue to open a second shop in the next town. How did the owners prevail? They knew how to advertise their business. They placed the same advertisement in the same spot, in the same paper, every week—without fail. And they learned to use their public relations skills to gain free radio time as well as television time.



When sitting down to develop your advertisement, keep these things in mind:

• What advertisements do you read over and over again, even though you pretty much know what the ad is going to say? What is it about that ad that continues to capture your attention?

• Which advertisements do you automatically gravitate to when reading the paper? What is it about those ads that draw your attention to them?

• What do you want your advertisement to do for your? Promote your business? Offer a sale? Inform the public?

• What is your product or service`s biggest seller? Should that be mentioned in your advertisement?

• Don`t crowd your advertisement with tons of colors, words, or pictures. Less is truly more.

• Place a "call to action" in your advertisement...call this number, visit our store, sign up for ____, or visit our website to download free ____.

Finally, remember that you can`t always rely on the results of others as to a "good place" to advertise your business. If your business isn`t geared towards the readers of a certain publication, your results will not come close to that of the person who recommended that publication in the first place.


Alyice Edrich (http://dmwrites.com) is the award winning editor of The Dabbling Mum®. Stop by for your chance to win free videos and books or to download three free e-books (http://thedabblingmum.com).

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Speed Up Your Business Website to Keep Your Visitors

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I live in the super high fast paced world known as the eastern part of the United States. Sitting between Washington, DC and Boston, MA, the world here moves faster then anywhere else I have ever been.

So as a director for a website you could imagine my being around a fast paced environment everyday would also translate to the website as well. To me, nothing can be more aggravating and frustrating when I go to a website and it loads extremely slowly.

A lot of today’s websites are inundated with a variety of graphics, flash and multimedia that, quite frankly is not necessary. Unless your website is Disney-esque, all you are doing is slowing down your online business card. You have spent either a lot of time, money or both to get your home page to do all kinds of fancy things, but are they practical ideas? Then you put on the home page right below the extremely slow loading flash demo, “skip this”, which most people do. So ask yourself, if most people skip the intro, why do it in the first place?

The answer is simple, you don’t really need it. Sure if someone does watch it, it seems really neat. In this article let’s talk about how those flash demos, and graphics can be more practical for your website and online advertisements when used properly.

Flash is a really wonderful tool. When used properly it can enhance the message you are trying to get across to your site’s visitors. I believe that when using flash you shouldn’t automatically just load it for the visitor and show it to them whether they want to see it or not. Instead, use a play button of some sort so visitors can make that decision on their own. Flash is a wonderful way to show a presentation on products, services, your business and so much more. Using flash properly will definitely enhance the visitor’s experience, however, make it overbearing and the visitor will leave.

If you take only one thing about graphics from this article, heed this advice. Remove the banner advertisements. In today’s web world they are useless. Nobody pays attention to them anymore and they look merely like clutter on the web page then anything useful.

Instead use button links or text links with a good photo demonstrating what it is you are trying to get the visitor to do. For example, on our website we work with Amazon to sell books and media in relation to advertising. We do not use some huge banner ad to do it as that would look ridiculous. Instead, we post a photo of the product, the title and then when the user moves their mouse pointer over it a new box will appear detailing information about the product. We feel it is a wonderful, less intrusive and less annoying way of getting the products across to our site’s visitors.

Although it goes beyond the scope of this article, you can cut down on a variety of graphics which slow down your website by using cascading style sheets, different graphic formats and various other tools. Become acquainted with them or have your web site designer use them. It will help speed up your site and in this fast paced world that is very important.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

A Night Out That Sparks a Wonderful Advertising Option

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With a young child at home, as some or many of your might know, it is difficult to get out of the house with your significant other for what my wife and I call, “date night”. This term, which we coined from another couple we know, refers to a night when the wife and I head out on the town for dinner, a movie, or maybe a show of some sort, without our son.

Last night was our night out. We were lucky enough to snag a baby sitter, who is referred to by our son as “mom-mom”, and mother-in-law to me, for the evening. She arrived at our house around six in the evening and off we went.

My wife decided it would be a good idea to visit a local restaurant, which is in the category of fine dining. This decision was made because of an advertisement she saw in the local newspaper. The ad was talking about the establishment, what it had to offer, and their hours of operation. But what really finalized the deal for her (and me also), is the “buy one get one dinner entrée” coupon that you could cut out and use.

The prices of this particular restaurant are on the higher end for my budget, so this coupon was a great way to experience an enjoyable atmosphere, fine dining and wonderful service, and save money. The coupon was only good for Wednesday night, which tells me that is more than likely their slowest of evenings. Their coupon program obviously worked because the place was packed. We didn’t make a reservation so our wait was around forty-five minutes. With “mom-mom” watching our son at home, and our first night out together in a long time, would you care about the wait? We had our cell phones with us so if she really needed to get in touch with me or my wife we were just a phone call away.

This experience with this coupon is what leads me to write about today’s advertising topic. There is nothing better then when you can share a real life experience and how it relates to helping others in their own advertising campaigns. I present this question. Are you running ads with coupons that could help those slow days or slow moving products?

This particular coupon we used helped this restaurant tremendously and chances are a similar campaign would work for you as well. I spoke with a friend of mine who runs a promotion company and when ticket sales to an event are slower then normal, he will step it up a notch and run a promotion in a local paper with a coupon to receive free photos, autographs and other low cost merchandise. For him as a promoter it is more important to have sold out arenas, so giving away some things is not that big of a deal.

Whatever your business entails, chances are you can work in a really good advertisement with a coupon that can spark some extra sales for that slow day or slow moving product. Another fascinating part of my own experience is that, my wife and I had such a wonderful time that we would strongly recommend the restaurant to friends and family. So their coupon also is getting customers to provide free word of mouth advertising as well. This could work for your business also.

Sit down and write up what your next advertisement will be, and make sure it includes a coupon that gets people to notice. You may start getting in sales you never knew or thought were possible.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

A Business Tip That is Sure to Help You Grow

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I remember way back when, at a time when the only worry I had in life was whether or not we were going to have that surprise quiz in class tomorrow. Ah the days of yester year that has drifted away.

Of course I am talking about back when I was just a young student in grade school. The days, although they seemed to take forever to finish, were a lot shorter, and I stress a lot, then they are today.

One of the things I enjoyed when I was a young child was the collecting of baseball cards. Once in a while I would go to a card show with my dad, but for me it was the thrill of opening that pack of Topps, Donruss or Fleer to see if I was able to snag the hottest superstars. Nothing, at that time, seemed more exciting then when you opened your pack, and boom, there was a Pete Rose, a Mike Schmidt or a Reggie Jackson just staring you back in the face.

About towards the end of my collecting career, a national chain of convenient stores were putting special edition baseball collector coins on the bottom (underneath the cup) of their signature frozen drinks. At that time collecting was very popular and I can see now why they would do this. It created a means to sell more of their product.

However, beyond that little tip for your business, these coins were limited edition collector’s items. In other words they would only be around for so long and only so many of them were printed.

This brings me to the business topic of the day. Do some of the products you sell or services you offer for your business, include a special limited edition offer? If you sell widgets, are some of them special edition? This will help create a buzz around your business and what you are trying to sell.

If you are a service oriented business, try offering additional services for a limited time. For example if you hang drywall for a living, throw in a free coat of primer if they get drywall work done within the next month. The possibilities of using this type of technique are endless. Sit down and think for a moment how you can incorporate it into your line of work. Chances are you can, and in fact you really should.

I know in our business we offer, from time to time, special discounts on premier services, and certain upgrades. We do this on occasion and it works well for us. I have also talked to some friends of mine who use this same technique for their own businesses or companies that they work for. It is a great technique and it really works.

Start your limited edition program for your business and you are sure to be on your way to generating sales you may not have thought would be there.

I wonder what happed to all those baseball cards I bought back in the day.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Exceed Your Customer`s Expectations and Success is Sure to Follow

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I recently wrote an article talking about how the summer months are just around the corner and that how my family and I are getting ready for it. You can consider this article somewhat of a part 2 to that one since I will be referencing some material from it.

As you might remember, my wife purchased our son’s new swimsuit for our upcoming beach days. We ordered it from Land’s End and had a wonderful experience in doing so.

What I wanted to touch on today is something that caught my eye from their online catalogue compared to what actually happened. I’ll get to more on that in a moment.

Do you remember way back when Domino’s Pizza claimed they would deliver your pie in 30 minutes or it was free? It was a great marketing gimmick to get people to order thinking if it were busy enough when they called, they just might get a free pizza.

However, no matter how many times I tried, they always seemed to beat the 30 minute mark. Either way I was happy. I would either get a pizza for free or one delivered really and I mean really fast.

The above example leads right into what I wanted to talk about today. It also ties in what I previously mentioned about the Lands End catalogue. That is, making a promise and exceeding the customer’s expectations.

In the Lands End catalogue they said shipping would take about 2 to 4 weeks. So we marked our calendar, noted the date, and expected to receive the swimsuit by or around that time. A few days later the order arrived. This completely exceeded our thoughts as to when we would get it. In turn it made my wife and I very happy customers. The same holds true for Domino’s Pizza. I expected to get it by 30 minutes, but when they showed up at my door in about 10 to 15 minutes, I was really blown away.

As a business owner, you need to hold yourself, employees and your business in the same regards. Make a realistic promise and then exceed it. If you paint rooms for a living and the customer wants to know how long it will take you to complete the job, it might be better to add on a day or two. When you finish prior to your promise date you will have exceeded the goal. Your customers will be extremely happy and chances are will refer you to their friends.

You want to avoid undercutting the time you need to make a customer happy. If you do that and do not hit that goal, the customer will get frustrated, ask for a refund, cancel your service and of course no longer be a customer.

So keep in mind the next time you are delivering a product or scheduling to complete a service. Give yourself extra time and then exceed it to make the customer happy.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Two Great Marketing Tips For Your Business

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My wife and I are gearing up for the upcoming summer season. During this time we will take many trips down to the local beach with our son. There is nothing like building sand castles with a one year old while your skin bakes to a nice golden brown tone (or red in my case). All jokes aside, the sunshine, the warm weather and of course family, make these day trips a wonderful experience.

While making sure we have all the summer necessities, my wife realized we needed a swimsuit for our son. He is growing so fast, so anything we had before will no longer fit. My wife went online, did some research and settled on an outfit she bought from Lands End. They are a wonderful company with excellent customer service and great prices.

She was fortunate to get this particular product at a discount. It was one of those last year hold over outfits. In any event, she ordered it and within a few days it arrived. I took the box inside from the UPS delivery person, placed it on my kitchen table and proceeded to open the box to remove the contents. In doing so, a number of pieces of paper fell out of the box and onto the table. Curious to see what they were I then picked them up and started reading them.

It is these pieces of paper that brings me to my business topic for today. Whether you ship products, such as Lands End, or an online business where you email eBooks, my recent order for my son reminded me of a great technique you should be using for your own business. Do you include coupons with all orders on other items you sell? That is what these pieces of paper were. They included additional paperwork to save more money on future orders. You should be doing the same for your business.

The savings on the paperwork I received was 25% off my next order of any women’s apparel. I am assuming since my wife did the actual ordering is the reason why we received that particular coupon. I believe had I ordered the product I might have received 25% of any men’s apparel. As you can see how helpful a marketing technique like this can be.

This is a great way to keep your existing customers coming back as well as an excellent way to drive word of mouth advertising to obtain new ones.

A second piece of literature in there that I thought was a very good idea was the small catalog of items for the summer season. This booklet of additional products geared toward the summer was more than likely included because we ordered an item that was specifically geared toward that time of the year. Since we ordered a swimsuit, there marketing system obviously sent up a flag that said, “This is a summer item, quick, put a summer catalog in the box.” You get the point.

By combining these two excellent methods as low cost marketing techniques, you will be surely on your way to generating more sales and more leads in your business.

Now where is the SPF 50 sun tan lotion!

By: Bruce A. Tucker


About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.indocquent.com/, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Do Your Customers Know Who You Are?

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Over the past ten months or so, since the launch of our website, I have written nearly 200 articles on a variety of subjects. Most have been related to business, advertising and marketing which are what we specialize in. On occasion you may have seen me write about my experiences with another product, a service or even certain vacation trips my family and I have taken.

This led me to think about my next article (really the article you are reading now) and its subject matter. I wanted to get across the point about how can customers remember your business. More importantly, how can you make it easier for customers to remember your business?

Back in the late nineties I was a huge fan of the television sitcom, Seinfeld. It was the show ‘about nothing’. In one of the episodes George Costanza was dating a young lady. As the episode progressed the young lady was no longer interested in George. He had a theory to brand his name in her mind with a quick tune as he walked out the door. The tune of the ’by Menin’ commercial, he softly sung out, Co-stanza!, The young lady couldn’t get him out of her mind after that. So his idea worked.

Now this is not to say that you need to go around humming a theme song for your business, but the moral of the story is, you need to build brand awareness to make it easier for your customers to remember you.

A great way of doing this is to create a logo and a slogan for your business. There is more than likely no more well known logo and slogan than Nike’s swoosh and ‘just do it’ campaign. They have spent millions to implant that image in the minds of everybody. Now chances are you don’t have the budget for that, nor do you need that kind of budget when you start out.

First thing you need to do is get your logo and slogan created. Have a brain storming session with your employees, or if you are a sole proprietor, set some time away in the day and write down anything and everything that comes to mind.

Once you have something you feel really represents your business where customers will take notice, it is them time to put it into action. Put your new slogan and logo everywhere. Start with your website. Then put it on your advertisements and promotions, both online and offline. Add it to your letterheads and envelopes, business cards, and of course as a signature on all your emails that you send out (both personal and professional).

Continually doing this will increase your company awareness. It doesn’t happen overnight, so do not be discouraged if things seem slow at first.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

In Business The Customer Should Always Be Right

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It is true in business as it is in life that people want to feel like they are important. As in the daily rigors of the world, your customers want to know they are #1 first and that, yes, they are always right.

With good customer service your business should never get to the point where the customer feels neglected or abandoned to their needs. They should be able to walk in to your store, visit your website or talk to you on the phone and when the conversation is over their issues have been resolved.

Going above and beyond with good customer service is just a start to making your customers feel important. There are little things you can do and change that would mean the world to your existing customers and ‘customers-to-be’.

Today I want to focus in on how you can change the mindset of your customers by making them feel that they aren’t just buying your product, hiring your service or using your business. This can be done by simply letting the customer know that they are investing in you, your products or services.

This can be handled in a two step process that is basically cost free and very affective. The first part is when you are advertising, whether it is online, in print, on the radio or on television, change the words “buy” and/or “purchase” to “invest”. In other words, if in your ad it says, “Buy our product to help speed up your day”, you could change that to read, “Investing in our product today will help speed up your tomorrow”. You get the point.

You will need to fine tune your ad so that it reads something legible and that the word investing can more fit what it is you are offering. People are more likely to respond if they feel they are making a difference and in this case investing into something that also benefits them.

The second part of this process is to show potential customers how your business, products or services have benefited past customers. These are normally known as testimonials. Testimonials are customer accounts as to how your business, products or services have helped them. If you run an online business you can add a link to your homepage where visitors can click to view the testimonials of past customers. This will give your visitors a chance to read those reviews and help them with their own decision.

If you run a brick and mortar company, you can post the actual written letters by framing them and posting them on a wall. If you are fortunate enough to obtain photos of the customer, post the picture with it. I know at the local landscaping store down the road, this is exactly what they do. Not only do they post the testimonial and picture of the customer, but also photos of the work they have done to back up the testimonial. Show your potential customers that others who were at where they are standing now made the decision to use your service. In doing so they enjoyed what you had to offer so much they wrote to you and expressed their satisfaction. As you can see, testimonials are a great way to help sell yourself through the experience others have had.

As a business owner it is your chance to make your customers feel important. Make them feel that they are treated right and receive the results they were looking for when they first contacted you. This will go a long way when they write a testimonial for you, or feel they are investing in your company.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.indocquent.com/, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Have You Overlooked this Sales/Advertising Technique for your Online Business?

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The late 90`s were a time when the Internet was really taking off and the beginnings of how we view it today. No more so on the forefront of that explosion was retailer Amazon. They pioneered many of the things you still see online. They basically started online purchasing with secure connections (although others will lay claim to this as well).

The success of Amazon was so great (even though they were working in the red), that Jeff Bezos was named CEO of the year. It truly was a great accomplishment. Websites popped up everywhere wanting to be the next Amazon and to be that successful in the virtual world.

As wonderful as the accomplishments by Amazon were at the time, let us not forget the valuable lesson that they did teach us. What they taught us was and still is one of their biggest selling points, is the fact as to how they started the affiliate program. An affiliate program is the means by which others sell your products for you on their websites or blogs and in return when there is a sale that comes through their site, they receive a commission on it. That translates into free advertising until there is a sale. It was very simple, yet very ingenious.

Amazon might have pioneered this technique but it does not mean you can not use it for your own online business. In fact, if you do not have an affiliate program set up, you should get one going as soon as possible. It acts as your advertising without having to pay for it until there is an actual sale.

In order to have your own affiliate program you can either join one of the many automated ones out there now or start your own. You can find them by doing a search on the words `affiliate program`. For your own you will need some programming skills. If that is above your expertise, you can either find a developer to implement it for you or refer back to the first idea.

Once you have your affiliate program enabled, you need to get the word out there about it. Start with posting a link on your home page to an area where visitors can register for your affiliate program. The next step is to start advertising your program. There are a variety of tools and websites out there, ours included, where you can advertise your affiliate program for next to nothing.

As you can see an affiliate program is a great way to get advertising from others without having to pay for it up front. If done properly, as was in the case with Amazon, you may be able to cut that advertising budget to almost zero.

So there you have it. An affiliate program is a great idea for your online business. Get your program started today, and you could soon see an increase in sales and revenue.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Are Your Current Customers Helping You Get New Customers?

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While watching some television the other night, I, as many of you probably do as well, was channel surfing. Instead of doing the obvious time saving technique of actually reading the weekly TV guide that comes with my local newspaper, I decided to sit in my chair and flip through each channel until I found something I liked. Why we do this, who knows? But it is very common I am sure.



While moving through each channel I stopped on a movie that I absolutely love called El Dorado. It stars John Wayne and Robert Mitchum and is a pretty good film.



During a commercial break there was an advertisement for the local cable company. The ad said something to the affect of, if I upgrade to digital right now along with a friend who is a new subscriber you get 3 months of digital programming absolutely free.



I was thinking that`s not a bad deal. The only problem is, everyone I know already has cable television. Nevertheless I thought it would be a perfect topic for today`s article and that is rewarding customers who refer new business. It’s like marketing and not having to pay for it until you actually make a sale.



Whether you run an online business or brick and mortar establishment, this is a good way to generate more revenue and more importantly, build your customer base. Let’s say for example you run a website that sells a monthly subscription to widget digest. It doesn`t matter what widget digest is. Just know for now that you sell it.



In this example you can easily offer to a current customer that for every new customer that signs up that was referred to your company by them, the customer will receive `x` number of months added onto their subscription. Depending on how much you charge for a subscription that could be a substantial savings. A savings that is sure to get your current customers motivated to work for you in obtaining new customers.



This is how the example would work if you had a monthly subscription. You could also tell your existing customers, that if they refer new customers, they will receive a gift card for a purchase at a later date of another product you might sell. If you are a service oriented person, such as you hang drywall for a living, you could offer to paint a room for them if they refer a person who needs some drywall work done.



As you can see, the possibilities with this type of marketing are endless. You can offer free products, coupons, further discounts, you name it.



Sit down and decide what offer will be best for your company to make it worth your while. Write up the plan and the execute it. If done properly you should be getting those new customers in no time.



Now let me see if any other good movies are on right now.



By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Create Extra Revenue for Your Business with this Sales Technique

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Have you ever had this type of morning where you are at the office, there is meeting after meeting or you just can`t seem to catch your breath because you are so busy?

That happened to me one day last week. It seemed as though as soon as I hit the office door I was off and running. A meeting at eight in the morning, followed by talking to some customers and potential investors, then another meeting and before I knew it, lunchtime had arrived.

Here is the problem; I had another meeting across town so there would be no time to stop in the lunchroom for a quick bite. I would have to get my food on the road.

Now it is not something I normally do, but I stopped at a fast food restaurant to get a quick bite of something so I would not pass out in the afternoon meeting. While there, I was exposed, reminded really, of a great technique that can be used in business to generate some extra revenue that you may not have known was there.

I was ordering a number three (or four, I really can not remember), and when I was done placing my order, the cashier asked if I would like to make my order an extra large for an additional twenty-nine cents. I declined as I did not see the need to drink what looked like a couple gallons of diet soda.

However, this sparked the topic of today`s article and that is upselling.
Upselling is the technique by which (as you can read above), someone offers you something else with your offer at a discounted price. In the case above, the restaurant was willing to give me about 8 more ounces of soda for only twenty-nine cents more.

This tells me that the cost for that amount of soda is less than what they are charging (must be a lot less at that price). They must have done their market research to know that people are willing to hand over that small amount at the time of their order.

Now this amount mentioned above may not seem like a lot, but since they are a chain, serving probably hundreds of thousands daily, if they get one to two percent of their customer base to agree on the upgrade, it may in turn add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra sales.

As you can see upselling your products or services can lead to extra income that you might not have thought about before.

If you are not upselling in your business, you should definitely start. First sit down and write up a plan as to what would be the best option for you to upsell. If you hang drywall for a living, consider throwing in to prime the drywall for an extra cost. Just make sure that extra cost covers your supplies. SO for instance if a five gallon bucket of primer runs you $90, offer the customer to paint one coat of primer on the drywall for $150. This covers your supplies and most of your labor. But in turn since you are already at the job site, you didn`t spend any money on gas for your vehicles.

You get the point. Start upselling in your business. You will more than likely stir up some extra revenue you may not have know existed.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

An Excellent Advertising Technique You May Have Overlooked

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I was sitting down for Sunday breakfast the other day and as with my usual routine I like to skim through various sections just to see what is going on in the world. While doing so I came across a well put together advertisement for a product, which I really have no use for, but the ad was so compelling I had to take a look at it.



What separated this ad from others that were on the same page was the fact that it was written more like a story or press release then an advertisement.



Now I know this is a practice that has been going on for many years, but this particular ad that I saw was very well put together. It kept you focused on the story about the product, what it had to offer and even threw in some helpful statistics to prove why their product was worth spending the money on.



This brings me to my main focus on today`s article and that is, if your business, the products your offer or the services you make available, can warrant a press release style of advertisement, you should definitely do it.



Don`t just sit down and write a hyped up advertisement in a story format, but take the time and construct a well written press release about your business, products or services and use that as your advertisement.



A friend of mine runs a promotional company and he used this similar technique. A staff member of his wrote a wonderful press release on a new service that my friend`s company had to offer. When it was done, it outlined the benefits of the service, painted emotional word pictures for the service to get people emotionally attached to it, used a set of statistics that he obtained by doing some research at this local library, and then wrapped it up as if it were a news story. It was very well done.



This type of advertising works well both in print and online. Now you don`t want to have all of your ads appear this way as that will eventually lead to the useful information in there falling on deaf ears. You want to mix this type of campaign in once and while to make your promotions look fresh and new.



So there you have it. A great advertising technique that you may not have thought of before. Give it a try. It may lead you to even more sales then you expected.



By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay per click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

5 Helpful Tips on Conducting Market Research

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On occasion I visit the local library to do some research. As opposed to just surfing the internet at home, the Library is one of those places where it is quiet, has all the material I will need for whatever project I am researching, and it is filled with many expert librarians schooled on the art of finding information.

This got me thinking about what to write about in my next article that gets posted on our website and business blogs. We`ll get to more on that in a moment.

While talking to a couple of the librarians, I was shocked to hear that out of the 40,000 plus residents we have in our city, less than 20% of them actually have a library card. To me that card represents any, well almost any, piece of information I need to conduct my business.

That brings me to today`s topic. Using your library in conjunction with information that you already have from your own business to do proper market research can help you tremendously. Today I want to cover 5 tips you can use to do research that will teach you how to get to know your customers and competitors.

Customers

Start by asking you customers for information. Get them to fill out a card and return it to you. On that card, ask a few questions for the information you seek. Customers a lot of times are more than happy to provide this information.

Your Own Business

You have invoices, sales receipts, credit applications and a whole slew of other documents with pertinent information on there that can give you statistical data you need to make better decision about what direction to move your company to. See what these items tell you about sales and customers.

Trade Associations

Trade associations exist in your business sector and chances are there are many of them. This is where your local library and librarian can assist. Visit them and ask where you can obtain a list. They may have a book there that you can make copies of to help you with this research. According to S.C.O.R.E., "Use your trade associations. Read their studies and journals or call them when you need information."

US Government

Yes good ole Uncle Sam is there to help you. The federal government has so many programs and buildings full of information that many Americans don`t even realize exist. There are federal employees out there whose main job is to be the expert on a certain topic. I was reading a book the other day and it talked about how a person was starting a farming business and wanted to know about potatoes. He called the federal government in D.C. and eventually was put in touch with a person whose main job is to know everything there is about the business and agriculture information of potatoes. That information to that potential business owner was like walking into a gold mine. Uncle Sam has your information also; pick up the phone and call.

Advisory Board

I talked about this topic in another article that I wrote that can be found on our website. Create an advisory board. I won`t go into much detail on this subject since you can read the previous article. I will tell you this, an advisory board can help you with a lot of creative ideas and more information you need to excel your business.

So there you have it five useful tips to help you complete some market research. Implement these and you will be on your way to improving your business. Do not forget about the library. If you do not have a card, go get one. It is free (in most cases) and every library is worth their weight in gold.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

A Local Charity May Help Your Business Grow

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It was that time of the year in my community when the local volunteer fire company seeks donations.

I do not know how your community handles it, but in our neighborhood the volunteer fireman stand in the busiest intersections in town and with a fire boot in their hands they walk to windows of cars that have stopped at the red traffic light.

I had to take an educated guess I would suspect about 80% of the people they approach end up making a donation. Of course why would you not. They are volunteering their time to insure we are safe.

This make me think of how donating to charitable organization can actually benefit your business. I turned to a friend of mine as I usually do for advice on other business techniques and asked him if he practiced any type of charitable donations for his business.

My friend operates a rental property repair business, in which he fixes up investment properties for property managers, investment clubs and of course investors.

He says that a couple times during the year he donates his services to help out with charities that might build homes for the less fortunate, to fixing a property where the homeowners have hit a bad stretch in their lives.

He says he does it for two reasons, the first it makes him feel good knowing he has the skills to help others out, and second, it gets his name out there.

According to S.C.O.R.E., they recommend that you, "make donations that represent your business. If you have a garden supply business, for example, contribute seeds and simple tools for a community garden." Which goes along with what my friend does.

If you have a business, product or service that you are offering and feel that it can in someway beneift a charity, you should look into one that compliments what you are offering. Chances are there is an organization out there that needs you.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Success In Business Starts With an Educated Customer

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I have a normal routine when I arrive at my house after leaving the office. Before I pull into my driveway I swing by my mailbox, which in our town is located on the opposite side of the street than my house. Probably set up that way to make life easier on the postal delivery person. Once I retrieve my mail, I pull into my driveway, and then proceed into the house.

It is not until I get inside that I look over the mail, sort it by junk mail and important mail, and determine which needs my immediate attention and which mail can wait until after dinner, walking the dog and so on.

Yesterday while browsing through my mail I came across something I thought was very interesting and a good topic to write about in today`s article. My local township is constantly having events, or making upgrades to schools, and a slew of many other items that I, as a local taxpayer, really should stay on top of.

What they sent out to all of the residents in the town was their newsletter. This newsletter was well written, very colorful so it would get noticed, and had all of the information in there that I needed to know to stay informed. It told me what they accomplished last quarter, what they are looking to get done for next quarter and what is to come by the end of the year. They also mentioned some local residents in there that had done some good deeds as well as some charitable donations.

So what am I getting at? Simply the topic of today`s article and that is, for your business and for your customers, you need to start a newsletter.

It doesn`t matter if you are online or offline, you need to inform your customers as to what is going on in your business. It serves a multitude of tasks that will help assist your business. For starters, you can include useful information in the article that your customers can use in their day to day lives. In my township newsletter they put a helpful tip in there as to how get the most space out of the recycling container. You will have to tailor your tips to meet your business needs.

Your newsletter can contain some coupons that you put in there for discounts that you are offering, new product or services that you offer and so much more. The possibilities of what you can do with a newsletter are endless.

Depending on what your business does, you should send your newsletter at least quarterly. If you are busy enough to warrant a monthly or weekly newsletter, than that is even better. I strongly discourage sending out a newsletter more than once a week. Doing that may discourage your customers from wanting to read your newsletter to the point where they may ask you to take them off of your mailing list.

You probably receive newsletters now for businesses that you are a customer of. Learn from their newsletters. Find out what you like that they have and what you don`t like, then tailor yours towards your business.

Keep your customers and potential customers informed. Customers will gravitate towards businesses who run not only a respectable business, but one where they learn from.

By: Bruce Tucker

Published By:
Indocquent, an online advertising medium where you can promote your business, products or services.

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Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Blogging for Business

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Blogging, or "web logging," has received a lot of attention in the past few years. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, "blog" was the Word of the Year in 2004.1 Blogging originated from online diaries, in which people described their lives and opinions by posting short segments on a website of their creation. This became the interactive format known as blogging today, a medium in which readers are able to respond to the posts made by a particular blogger. A blogging website shows the latest blog first, popular bloggers updating daily for the fans of their respective blogs. In light of major events such as the Iraq War, news blogs have become increasingly popular, these blogs serving as either a venue for news or for opinion on current events. Blogging has allowed the "everyman" an outlet for expressing his or her ideas and experiences, from the escapades of food critics to the lives of soldiers serving in Iraq.



Blogging`s emergence in the business world was inevitable. In 2005, Forbes Magazine stated that bloggers have "become a force business can`t afford to ignore."2 In the article, several bloggers of note were mentioned. These included Peter Rojas, founder of Engadget, a blog dedicated to daily coverage of gadgets and popular electronics; Ben and Mena Trott, bloggers and co-founders of Six Apart, an international software company with several personal-, business-, and product-based blogs; and Jonathan I. Schwartz of Sun Microsystems, whose own blog involves his experiences and thoughts as President and CEO of the company. The merits of using blogging as a means to promote a company or to help with the foundation of a company had become high indeed.



The immediate draw of blogging for businesses is, of course, advertising. There are millions of blogs on the web and millions of readers who visit those blogs. As of December 2007, there were reportedly 112 million blogs online.3 Blogs are by nature well-suited for advertisement - the people frequenting a blog about chair manufacturing are going to be the very audience a business that specializes in chair manufacturing will want to reach out to. Businesses may compete to advertise on the more popular blogs, because the higher a blog`s readership the more potential customers for a business` product or services. Most businesses use blogging as a resource for advertising, always looking for a way to stay one step ahead of the competitor. Blogging is also a great resource for customer service. It allows an affordable, interactive format which can showcase a business`s products or services while allowing for almost instant customer feedback. This allows businesses to retain a good feel for their customers and to deal with problems that may occur with a given product or service as quickly as possible. Blogging is especially helpful with small businesses, which may not always have the time, money or resources to maintain a Public Relations division.

But, like most things, there is a dark side to blogging. Bloggers have ostracized more than one business, sometimes without just cause. Most bloggers are indeed the everyman, and speak to the public about things which they may not always be as knowledgeable on as they claim. Personal vendettas are not uncommon, and litigation involving blogging has indeed grown rapidly in the past few years. Once tainted, it is hard for a business to overcome the seed of doubt placed in the public`s mind. Thousands, even millions of readers can be exposed to the ideas and opinions reflected in a person`s blog, and that kind of power is hard for any business to overcome when turned against them.



In 2004, bloggers picked up a story from a forum involving a fault in the design of a lock from Kryptonite Locks. Kryptonite responded immediately, recognizing the problem, fixing the faulty design, and instituting a mass exchange program.4 But that`s not how some bloggers decided to spin the story. Many Bloggers claimed that Kryptonite Locks had responded weeks later in a clumsy fashion and only after The New York Times broke the story in the mass media. Kryptonite Locks was thrown into a Public Relations nightmare, though they certainly managed to recover. Many bloggers have since overstated their impact on the company. But in spite of such extremities, there was damage done, and this remains the most well-known incident, in no small thanks to those bloggers. Donna Tocci, the Public Relations Manager for Kryptonite, said in an interview that "companies absolutely need to keep track of the blogosphere."4



The world of blogging certainly has its perils. But if a company can learn to manage a blog successfully, the benefits are great indeed. Getting started is easy: there are hundreds of websites dedicated to helping create blogs. Monitoring popular blogs which discuss matters related to your business is paramount. Advertising on other blogs is quite the bonus as well, allowing companies to further the reach across their potential market. Blogging, like the internet, is here to stay, and prudent businesses will find a way to make blogging an asset to their respective trades.



Sources:



1. Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online. http://www.m-w.com/info/06words_prev.htm.



2. Kirkpatrick, David, and Daniel Roth. "Why There`s No Escaping the Blog." Fortune 10



Jan 2005: 44-50.



3. Technorati. http://technorati.com/about/.



4. Taylor, Dave. "Debunking the Myth of Kryptonite Locks and the Blogosphere." The



Business Blog at Intuitive.com 13 Dec 2005.



http://www.intuitive.com/blog/debunking_the_myth_of_kryptonite_locks_and_the_blogosphere.html



Links to Blogs:



http://www.engadget.com/ (Peter Rojas)



http://www.sixapart.com/ (Ben and Mena Trott)



http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/ (Jonathan I. Schwartz)



Don`t forget to download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Is Your Business Using an Advisory Board?

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In big business you hear a lot about the Board of Directors or Board meetings and so on. It makes you think of grumpy old men sitting in a conference room in some multi billion dollar high rise building in New York or Los Angeles, doesn`t it?



However did you know, that no only can you have your very own advisory board, you really SHOULD have your own advisory board?



An advisory board is a group of people you put together to give you insight on how to make your business, products or services better for your clients.



This board will share their thoughts, ideas, and creative genius so you can make whatever it is you do better. Here is the best part; you do not need to be a multi-billion dollar conglomerate like Wal-mart or Nike to have an advisory board. You just need to be organized, and have access to enough people so you get varying ideas.
So where do these people come from? Simply put, they are your customers, which are where you will start to ask, to your neighbors, friends and family. You want to gather as many people as you can, somewhere from 10 to 20 will do, and get them talking about your business, products or services.



They are there to help you better what you are offering, by giving you their insight, so do not take offense when you get some criticism, because it is actually meant to help you and it will.



You may not take advantage of all the suggestions that you receive, but if you can implement some of them, they may make the difference from slow sales to fast business growth. Your advisory group should include individuals who actually will use or buy whatever it is you are selling. So for example if you make kids toys, not only should you have parents in the group, but kids as well. Their input is just as important as the adults.



It doesn`t matter what you are selling or providing in order to have an advisory group. But the fact is if you have not had one yet, you should definitely get started.



By: Bruce A. Tucker


About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.