The Little Black Book of Marketing
myWebSource1 Launches The Little Black Book of Marketing
Northeast Ohio Internet Marketing Company offers help to small businesses.
Wadsworth, Ohio – (March, 2010) – myWebSource1, LLC launches the a new eBook directed at small business owners. The new book, called “The Little Black Book of Marketing” is designed to help businesses succeed on the internet by creating a source of links and online marketing information put into simple, and easy-to-use terms that anyone can understand.
Do you find yourself lost when it comes to promoting your web site? Are you online, but nobody knows where to find you? The Little Black Book of Marketing is designed for you! In this 41-page ebook, you will find over 200 links designed to help your business succeed. “When I wrote this ebook”, says author James Fowler, “I was looking for a way to help the local businessman who doesn’t have time to find sites online that will help promote their business. This book is laid out so anyone – whether they’ve been online for years or just beginning – to sit down and start promoting their web site in a matter of minutes.”
Within this eBook, you’ll find:
• How-to Methods to Online Success Put in Easy-To-Use Terms.
• 200+ Helpful Links Gathered From Years of Experience Scouring the Internet.
• Effective Ways of Reaching Your Customers.
• Methods on Leading Customers to You.
• Effective Ways To Promote Your Business and Brand.
• Definitions of Commonly Used Internet Terms.
The book is currently available online for an introductory rate of $19 ($20 off the MSRP) and can be found here: (http://www.mywebsource1.com/littleblackbook.html)
ABOUT myWEBSOURCE1, LLC
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myWebSource1 has been delivering web site designs and internet marketing to businesses since 2006. Comprised of web specialists from across the United States, myWebSource1 offers web sites, content management systems, search engine optimization, pay-per-click management, and social networking for a variety of different businesses.
myWebSource1, LLC
268 Baldwin Street Wadsworth, Ohio 44281
Toll Free: 866-675-6560
www.MyWebSource1.com
Twitter: @mywebsource1
Skype: DUQofURL
Five Things Every Web Site Owner Should Avoid
You’ve built it, now is anyone showing up to your web site to take advantage of what you have to offer? Did you make a mistake when you built your web site? Is it the fault of your designer or is there something you are doing wrong? Let’s explore five of the aspects of web sites that you should avoid when building your web site. Read more…
Reasons to Build Your Web Site
If you have been considering building a web site, there are some things to think about before you invest your time and money in getting an online presence. Weigh in on what you want your web site to accomplish and make sure you won’t be wasting a lot of resources that you may never get back. Here are five reasons you should be building a web site for your business. Read more…
Categories: Small Business Tags: customer service, ecommerce business, online business, online presence, web business, web sites
Confessions of a Small Business Owner
It has been over twenty-one months now since I quit my job and started my own business. Like most people who want to be entrepreneurs, I think I’ve always had a need to own my own business. Having the freedom of being your own boss is an incredible feeling, but it is accompanied by terror that makes most people hesitate.
I remember the day I came home and told my wife that I finally made the move and that the next Friday would be my last day of work. She freaked out! I assured her that there was nothing to worry about. I had some customers and we had money saved up. I needed her to trust me to do this.
A friend of mine – an accountant – has always wanted to be his own boss. We would talk for hours about starting a business and being successful. His excuse was that he never could settle on the right business no matter how much he wanted it. Personally, I think he is overcome by the fear of making that fateful step.
That step is really the turning point of success or failure. If you no longer have a safety net (i.e. a regular paying job) to fall back upon, you must succeed. Therein, lies the key and the conundrum. You have to give up your security to gain your freedom.
While I was planning this radical change, I spoke to others who owned businesses. I asked them about the growing terror I was feeling. Is it normal to not be sure of yourself? “Every day”, was their almost unanimous reply. When you are out there without a backup and it is sink or swim, you are going to have feelings of fear.
Now I am not asking you to go and give up your job to be a businessperson, but here are some of the steps I learned while making my fateful journey.
Insurance
Everybody needs it, whether you are healthy or not. In my case, I have some health issues and having insurance is imperative. The week I got married, I switched my health insurance over to my wife’s company. Other options could include finding alternative coverage. There are plans in which you pay into an account and draw from that money as you need it. Look into programs that cover small businesses and micro-businesses.
Equipment and Supplies
I own a web design and marketing firm. My equipment is basically a computer, printer, and backup hard drives. I also needed software, business supplies (business cards, brochures, etc…) and peripherals, such as a camera and scanner. Whatever you need, get it before you make the step of quitting your job.
Money
We all need it and in this economy it is hard to get a loan. Most banks will ask for two years of your income taxes to give you a loan. This means, for the first two years after you start your business, you will find it difficult to get a loan. So, you will need cash. When looking to make the leap to self-employment, make sure you have a decent cushion of money to hold you over. Another suggestion is to give yourself a salary. This way, you will make a certain amount of money per month and avoid the bank loan dilemma.
A Plan
This, of course, is the biggest need when starting your own business. Have a business plan. You will need one in any endeavor you are going to start. Most professionals will tell you that businesses have a better chance of succeeding if you have a written plan. Keep the plan flexible. It is going to change. It has to change if you are going to succeed.
Don’t Be Afraid To Fail
A young reporter once asked Thomas Edison if he felt like a failure when he tried over 9000 times to make the electric light bulb, without success. Edison replied “no” because he learned over 9000 ways how to NOT make a light bulb. The point is, your business may not be a success. Most people who make it don’t do it on their first try. It takes experimentation and utter failure to gain the wisdom to succeed. Don’t give up!
June 6, 2010 I will have been in business for myself for two years. I gave up my position as a Director of Marketing for a shoe company to become one of America’s thousands of small business owners. I’ve survived a national depression and being off for two months due to a heart attack.
My first day on the job, I panicked.
I didn’t know what to do first! I had spent the past 15 years going to work, having a clearly defined schedule to accomplish, and do my job. For the first time, I was solely responsible for my success and failure. My mouth was dry, my heart was racing, I was scared!
I’ll be honest: I did all right in June. In the month of July, I didn’t make a dime. My preparedness was put to the test. But August was all right, September became even better and October and November were amazing! I’ve never looked back.
Owning a business isn’t for everyone, but for me – I can’t think of a better way to live my life.
Categories: Small Business Tags: business, business plan, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, small business owner
Something To Ponder
I grew up in what is now known as the “Rust Belt of America“. The corpses of long-forgotten factories lie in ruins along streets that can no longer be maintained. Yet, somewhere amongst the ghosts of the Industrial Revolution, small business thrives. Time is almost reversing and people are making their livelihoods in local shops and home offices where they promote their skills rather than follow direction from big business management.
But, how do we get an entrepreneurial spirit? It isn’t like we were given this roadmap to look outside the box and do things on our own. Actually, it has been just the opposite. We are taught that there is structure in everything and it is our job to follow that structure. It is trained within our makeup to follow the establishment.
When you are young, we are told to listen to our parents. Meals are a set schedule, we are given orders to clean our rooms and take out the garbage, we go to bed at a certain time, and do what we are told by the management, i.e. our parents.
Next, we go to school and it is more of the establishment. The teacher puts you in a class, sits you in an assigned seat, and you study what the teacher instructs you to learn. In actuality, it isn’t even learning, it is memorization and regurgitation. If you do wrong, you are punished. If you do something right, you are rewarded with a foil star.
Finally, we graduate from high school and/or college, we go out to find a job and we are expected to be leaders – but we’ve never been trained to think on our own. We are still looking for direction.
So how does a person become a leader? How do these small business owners get the nerve to stand up against what we’ve all been trained to embrace?
Question: What made you decide to go into business for yourself?
Categories: Small Business Tags: business leader, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, rust belt, Small Business, small business owner
The Testimonial
Testimonial: Basically, a written statement from someone who has used your product or service and have found it to be worthwhile. This powerful form of advertisement was first used in the 19th century and is still in use today. Testimonials emotionally appeal to the consumer rather than directly to their logic. For this reason, they are not always accurate, but extremely effective. Testimonials are used to provide justifications for purchasing or for taking some action.
So, how do you get to use this form of advertisement for yourself? You ask people. Feedback is generally heard from those who are not happy with your service or product. If a consumer is happy, you most likely won’t hear from them. They are satisfied with their purchase and will most likely become a return –but silent – customer. Targeting those customers that verbally tell you of their contentment is essential for a good testimonial campaign.
For example, if a customer comes back and tells you that they were pleased with your product, ask them if you can get that in writing. Have them email you the information or get them to write it out while you have them in your business. Make sure to have them sign the testimonial (or state you have their permission to use the testimonial in their email).
Testimonials are comprised of two parts –the body, or text of the testimonial, and the signature.
The one way I have found to gather testimonials is to put a space for them on your warranty card or create a card for the customer to return to you for an incentive. On this card, place a testimonial space with the disclaimer that their comments can be used in this format.
No matter how you collect your testimonials, you will find that they will help you in your business. People will read and believe them. Good luck on your endeavors and let others do your advertising for you.
Categories: Marketing In General, Small Business Tags: marketing yourself, self-marketing, testimonial, Testimonials, word-of-mouth
Three Ways To Promote Your Web Site
You just got your web site completed. You are on the web but you aren’t noticing much traffic coming to you after all the work that has gone into it. What can you do to make the internet work for you? How will people remember to come to your web site?Most people look at their web site as either an informational tool for their customers or an additional store front. Their web site is often both. The natural progression of their efforts is for the web site turning a profit. The problem arises that no one can find your site and you have little to no experience with web marketing to do what needs to be done to drive people to your web site.
Wrong!
By following three easy steps, anyone can drive people to their web site without ever knowing a scrap of HTML (that is the language used to create a web site –it is an acronym for HyperText Markup Language – meaning you can jump around from one page to the next.).
Read these rules. Follow them. You don’t need to spend a fortune getting customers to your web site, you need only lead them there. Customers will find your web site if they know where to look. So, direct them.
Rule One: Go Back to the Basics.
You’ve been doing this for years, but when a web site is born, people seem to forget how they used to market their business. Talk about the web site. Tell everyone you know that you have a web site and that they should go see it. Every single customer that comes into your store, office, or shop should hear that you have a web site. When a customer is on hold, make sure the web site is mentioned and that they may find the answer they are looking for online.
You know word-of-mouth advertising works. Use it to your advantage. Be proud of what you have and tell people about it.
Rule Two: Write it Down.
People need to hear something several times before it registers in their heads. This is why you need to follow rule number two. Put your web site address on EVERYTHING. Have it on a sign when they walk into your waiting room or storefront. Put it on your business cards. Put it on your invoices. Put it on flyers announcing your web site. In a flyer, you can even tease them with what is on the site and give them a reason to go there.
This is probably the one thing that most people overlook when trying to get people to come to their web site. It is very simple. It is extremely effective.
Rule Three: The Final Step.
How many emails do you write a day? Now that you have a web site and people have access to your email, this number will increase. Every email you send out should end in the following way:
Your Name
Your Address
Your Phone Number
Your email address
http://www.yourwebsiteaddress.com/
Note the final line. Your web site address. It doesn’t matter who you are writing to, this needs to be on your email. For those of you unfamiliar with the signature feature in most email accounts, this can be set up to automatically appear every time you send an email. Look at the options in your email account and set it up. If the web site is there, people will click on it.