It doesn’t matter what kind of business you are in. Whether you are a small business, single person shop, a growing family business, a successful employer of dozens of people, your goal is the same. You want to get the word out about what you have to offer. Obviously, you know about the importance of having business cards and a website.  You might also need to have printed materials to give to customers to tell them about existing or new services.  It might be to your advantage to have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, or paid advertising. As you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of various forms, don’t forget that you might be able to get some ** FREE ** publicity from your local newspaper.  

Here are some ideas:

• Business sections of the local paper often have listings of new hires. If you hire Suzie Q as your new bookkeeper or customer service representative, let the community know. 
• Specialty certifications can give your company a leg up over the competition. Make sure you announce those accomplishments with a short (three sentences are enough) press release and photo.
• If your business is doing something to help a local family or a non-profit, share that information with the local media.
• Pitch a story idea to an editor for a holiday or a special occasion. It could be simple… a Christmas tree farm could invite a photographer to visit the first weekend of December and follow a family. Maybe Girl Scouts are coming to your bakery to learn about frosting cakes. All it takes is a phone call. You could find yourself on Page 1!

How do you introduce yourself? What information do you present in the first ten seconds? How do you finish?  Making the sale is all about how you structure your pitch. Executive coach and public speaker Kathy McAfee explains how to properly construct an introduction to maximize your time efficiency. McAfee argues that while showing excitement for your product is important, it's paramount to show restraint and tease the audience into wanting more. Once you get into the conversation with the audience, McAfee shows how to keep potential investors interested without letting them dominate the discussion.

We always appreciate the kind words, and the referrals!


Our philosophy:

• Do the job right and 'as promised'.
  
• Honesty ALWAYS.
  
• Give it your all.
  

We've built a business on that philosophy... and look forward to meeting many more individuals and businesses who are looking for an online presence with a company they can trust.

It’s October and this is the time of year when ghosts will be hard at work scaring us. Smart companies, utilizing social media marketing strategies, are using ghosts to “scare” up more business. Well, we’re not really talking about the kind of ghosts that scream “boo.” We’re talking about ghostwriters. 

When using social media marketing, you need to be current and up to date on information you put on your blogs, websites or newsletters.  For small business owners, there is no time to sit in front of a computer writing new content or providing up-to-date data on your field and service. It’s impossible. 

One solution is to hire a professional writer to generate the content for you. Anonymous writers are called ghostwriters. Currently, there is a growing pool of ghostwriters both independent and through agencies to help save your digital marketing ambitions. After a few conversations with a ghostwriter or company you can determine the direction you want to go with the content of your articles. Many people come from diverse backgrounds, and you would be surprised to find out just what people specialize in. 

Besides being able to maintain a regular schedule for the output of information, there are other advantages of hiring a ghostwriter.

• Fresh information and content – Search engines love new information and content on your website or blog. Your search rankings will be given a boost with regular posts and updates.
  
• New Prospective – Having a fresh set of eyes looking at your business or field can be helpful. Often times a new set of eyes is all that it takes to spot an overlooked value in your offering. 
  
• Short and sweet -- Ghostwriters are not immersed in everyday life of your business and can avoid writing fluff. They write what people may want to read – since, in theory, they represent the public. 

So, maybe this is the month to invest in a ghostwriter to help your campaign. Boosting your ranking by adding regular, fresh content won’t scare away business, but may bring in more.

Contact Us Today, to learn more about ghostwriting, marketing, and blogging for small business, or visit our informational sister site at www.SimplySocialHub.com.

Your small business may be thinking about creating an email marketing campaign but just not 100 percent positive. Whether your business goal is promote a product or service, educate the public or clients or perhaps a combination of both, e-marketing can help you achieve all of these.

Here are just a few reasons how E-marketing can help your small business 

• Your customers can receive messages wherever they are . . .home, office or vacation.
  
• You can use E-newsletters to create a regular link between brand and customer.
  
• Many customers spend a majority of their time at a computer where the message is delivered.
  
• If you create an E-newsletter, it can supplement other marketing channels and add value to current campaigns.
  
• You can customize e-mail marketing. For instance, customized offers and messaging lets your prospects and customers feel special.
  
• Regular communications keeps your customers and prospects interested and loyal.
  
• E-newsletters enable your customers to get educational information – making your company a teacher and a valuable source or unsolicited information.
  

E-marketing is not going away. Small business can use this strategy, which is low-cost, to maximize their efforts to promote their business. 

So, you’re a small business. But is your website a main component of your marketing and branding efforts? If so, have you looked at your website lately . . .from a client’s point of view? If not, you may want to start right away. Your website could be a reason you are losing business.

Small business can attract potential customers via their business website. To make sure your website continues to do its job, you need to make sure that the content, appearance and usability are near perfect. In fact, getting your web design wrong can have negative effects on your business.

Here are common mistakes small businesses make with their websites:

1. Poor Navigation
People visit websites for specific information and if they cannot locate it quickly, they will seek it elsewhere – probably your competitors. The chances of them visiting your site again is slim. A good navigation structure should be seamless and will keep visitors on your site longer. Don’t make your visitors think about how to navigate your site; it should be obvious.

2. No Call for Action. .  What Should the User Do?
Ever seen a brochure with nonsense information? This is the same for websites. The fundamental error of many small business websites is the lack of a clear call to action. You need to make sure you are asking the user to do something like buy a product, tell someone something, read a book or visit somewhere. People like to take direction. Make sure you tell them to take action before they leave your site.

3. Design and color
Website should be designed with a balance of color and contrast. This is not a priority for the average small business owner. But it should be. Take a look at your website and determine if the text is difficult to read due to the color and contrast. If readers can not read the text because it is too dark or too light, they will move on. 

4. Nonsense or no information
The most important reason why people will visit your website is to get information, and if you don’t have it, they will, once again, leave your website. Small businesses often offer too much information that the user is overloaded and can’t find the simple fact they are searching for. Keep text simple but informational.

5.Websites that have clutter
Some small business owner’s websites are so cluttered that users have a difficult time trying to figure out where to go. Keep websites clean looking and easy to read. Visitors won’t return if they can’t understand or follow the content because it is just too messy. Unfortunately, this will lead to low traffic, a high bounce rate and possibly a poor page rank.

So step back and take a fresh look at your website. By creating some slight changes to your website, you may increase business and the overall positive image of your small business.

In the not-so-distant past, Twitter seemed to be the stepchild compared to other social media marketing methods. It was available, but as a small business, you were a little intimidated and not quite sure how to use it to your advantage. You have heard other small businesses take advantage of Twitter as a social media marketing tool and become successful using it. Why not join the crowd and start microblogging?  Here are a few tips and strategies on how to do it right.

Who is your audience?
This is marketing 101 – finding your audience or the people who you want to reach. Take some time to research the leaders in your niche on Twitter as well as the key followers too. If your business is already active on social media sites and blogs, this should help you build your online presence. Make sure you follow these key people too.

How important is Twitter in your overall marketing plan?
Twitter is capable of connecting with all kinds of professionals and customers but do you have any idea how it fits within your overall marketing plan. Will you focus on new customer acquisitions or connect with journalists?  Figure this out before jumping into microblogging.

By figuring out your goals, you will get a better understanding of scoring.
Whoa, don’t get too excited if you attract a huge following on Twitter one day.  It does not mean you are guaranteed a huge impact. Again, you need your key followers who will re-tweet -- spreading your links and spreading your message. 

Zoom-in on your tactics and methods.
Make sure you add high quality and interesting contributions online and every day. Also, don’t forget to link your Twitter account to other social media such as Facebook or LinkedIn. Lastly, reach out and get your followers involved by hosting Twitter events such as a webinar, and again, do it frequently.

As a small business, you can take advantage of this social media marketing tool. It’s easy to use and proven to be a successful method for other small businesses.

Ask yourself these questions: 

• Are you satisfied with your current website? 
  
• Is your website user-friendly and easy to navigate? 
  
• Do you have control over updating and editing your site?
• Are your visitors turning into customers?
  
• Does your website comply to current web standards? 

If you answered No to ANY of these questions, Let us give you a FREE Quote on getting your website updated.