I love participating in contests.  The idea of getting something great for free has a magnetic pull on me, as it does for many people.   You can sponsor a big contest (Win a Trip to NYC and a $1,000 Shopping Spree!) or a small one (Win a 30 Minute Massage!)—it doesn’t really matter.  As long as you are giving away something people want, a contest is a great way to drive leads and boost your inbound marketing program.

To get the message out as widely as possible, cross-promote your contest on your website, in your e-signature, on the social media platforms you’re using, and in your newsletter and/or blog.  People have short memories, so be sure to mention the contest fairly often.  And remember that the whole reason you are giving something away is to attract new customers.  You’ll want to capture their name, company name (if applicable), address, phone number, and/or email address so you can add them to your database.

I have shoes on my mind as I write this, so let’s say I own a children’s shoe store that specializes in high-quality European and American-made shoes.  I am going to give away a different pair of shoes every month.  Here’s what I’d do:

Set up microsite. I’d add a microsite to m

Read all post…

Today, on Wednesday April 27th between 19:00 and 21:00 BST we will take our European Webservers off line for a duration of approximately one hour.

The reason for this is necessary maintenance and a server upgrade ready for our upcoming software upgrade to WinWeb Version 6 which is planned to go public in June/July 2010.

Our servers in the US and Australia will not be affected at this time.

We apologise for the short notice and any inconvenience this may cause

.

Social media is a great way for a savvy small business owner to interact with customers and conduct bootstrap marketing. If used correctly, social media will build relationships and increase visitors to your online store. There are a number of social networking sites that have become extremely popular over the last few years and it is important for small businesses to know how to use them to their advantage.

Even large corporations are now using social networks to communicate with their customers. Some actually use it as a substitute for traditional help desk software or ticketing system by making it the first point of contact for any support requests. They can also easily monitor what people are saying about their brand and respond if necessary.

Facebook has slowly evolved from a site for students into a website for everyone. Small businesses and large corporations are welcome on Facebook because users will only choose to receive updates from them if they are interested.

Read all post…

For most business owners, the problem with inbound marketing isn’t that we don’t want to do it. Instead, it’s an issue that there are only so many hours in the day. Without the right tools, it seems impossible to get the job done. There are tools out there, though, that can help make managing your inbound marketing efforts.

1. Website Grader: Not sure how your website ranks in terms of social media? This tool from Hubspot will tell you how you’re doing on optimization, content and other criteria. The analysis it offers provides you with actionable information that you can use to decide how to improve upon your website. Hubspot also offers Blog Grader and Twitter Grader, as well as numerous resources on how you can create an in-depth inbound marketing plan.
2. Cotweet: Twitter can be difficult to manage if you’re trying to use it to connect with potential customers. However, Cotweet offers a set of tools you can use to interact with Twitter, such as posting tweets in advance, managing multiple accounts and maintaining standing searches for certain keywords. There are

Read all post…

Dr. Alan Glazier of Shady Grover Eye and Vision Care here in the Virginia area. They have been in business since 1993 and always early adopters of technology. They registered their domain and built their web site in 1996. Over these last 15 years the web site got them a foothold in search engines and as the web has evolved they have evolved with it. They use the site extensively for customer service and were an early adopter of social media and have seen tremendous value being a small business. This is especially for those customers who are younger and it connects with those patients and potential customers who see that they use the same tools they do. They have gotten rid of all print advertising, even the yellow pages.

Shashi sat down with him recently and discussed the evolution of technology in his small business and how it has changed the way they do business and will carry them forward. He has three great secrets that you will have to watch the interview (or head straight to 6:05 in the video below) and find out.

Read all post…

Outsourcing is becoming a tactic that is commonly used by many small businesses. There are a number of core business functions that are often outsourced, either to Virtual Assistants or specialists. Bookkeeping in particular is now regularly outsourced by small businesses looking to save their time and money. However, outsourcing is not always appropriate for every small business. You should consider some of the following factors before choosing to outsource your bookkeeping or other business functions.

The opinion of some small business experts is that you should decide what you are good at and then outsource everything else. This sounds good in theory, but in reality not many small business owners can afford to do this. A more sensible solution is to look at outsourcing the business functions that you are unable to do yourself. For example, if you are totally clueless about bookkeeping then don’t spend your valuable time trying to do it and potentially making costly mistakes. <

Read all post…