Small Business Brief

Weekly Newsletter - Date

Hi All!

Here is this week's edition of our newsletter.

Keep in mind that what you are currently looking at is a template. Although it has the current news up until today's date, my actual opening remarks for this week are only available in the newsletter once it is delivered.

Just let me know if you have questions or comments.

See you next week!

Linda Riley
Editor - Small Business Brief
linda @ smallbusinessbrief.com

Be sure and drop by our Small Business Ideas Forum. It's a friendly community where we share knowledge, find help and encourage one another.

 

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Recent Conversations In Our Small Business Ideas Forum

Publish Articles In Newspapers
"I have a question to those of us who published articles or columns in newspapers or magazines. What process did you follow to do that?"

Gotta Stop The Spammers!
"My contact form on my website has again came under spam attack and it's driving me insane. ... I've thought about putting a fill-in box on my contact form to weed out the bots, but really, I shouldn't have to do this. I would like to track this person or company down and find out exactly who it is. Any suggestions?"

How Much Should I Sell For?
"When selling an established Internet business, how much should one ask for? Is there some sort of 'rule' of 3 times the profits generated in a year or something like that?"

 

Small Business News

Publish Articles In Newspapers
"I have a question to those of us who published articles or columns in newspapers or magazines. What process did you follow to do that?"

Gotta Stop The Spammers!
"My contact form on my website has again came under spam attack and it's driving me insane. ... I've thought about putting a fill-in box on my contact form to weed out the bots, but really, I shouldn't have to do this. I would like to track this person or company down and find out exactly who it is. Any suggestions?"

How Much Should I Sell For?
"When selling an established Internet business, how much should one ask for? Is there some sort of 'rule' of 3 times the profits generated in a year or something like that?"

Separating Business Credit from Personal Credit
morebusiness.com - Building up your business credit as a corporation or limited liability company is a much better option. It allows you to separate your personal assets and liabilities from those of the business. If your business incurs a debt that it is unable to repay, you will not lose your personal assets (house, car, belongings, etc.).

Working For Your Kids
money.cnn.com - More and more retirement-age executives are taking jobs at their children's companies - here's how three of them are managing.

E-Mail Subject Lines: Beyond the Basics
entrepreneur.com - Still having trouble with your e-mail marketing campaign? Use these expert subject line writing tricks to grab prospects' attention.

Add User Photographs to Your Site
clickz.com - As a non-text content, customer photographs allow marketers to tap into social media. Though only a small percentage of users submit their snapshots, these images attract more viewers and others interested in experiencing them in other ways, such as mash-ups. These images can appear on your site, your blog, or photo-sharing and other third-party sites.

Dealing with Angry Customers
businessweek.comHow you handle mistakes and improve service could mean the difference between losing customers and keeping their business.

5 Characteristics Shared By The Best Affiliate Programs
devshed.com - Affiliate programs are plans developed by website owners to properly compensate deserving affiliates.They are considered one of the best Internet marketing strategies because of its cost-efficient and easily set up structure. The best affiliate programs may vary in the products or services they're selling, the rates they're paying and the benefits they're offering but trust them to share the following key success factors.

Finding the Best Summer Help
nfib.com - Almost every industry has peak periods when some extra help around the office would be welcome. Fortunately, if that time of year is during the summer months, you may be able to forge a mutually beneficial relationship with some temporary help through either summer interns or teenage employees.

Have We Lost the Ability to Write Comprehensible Copy?
marketingprofs.com - Many professional writers seem to have lost the ability to write clear, comprehensible copy that instantly communicates its point. That's especially worrisome in advertising, which depends on quick communication for its effectiveness.

Getting Prospects to Return Your Phone Calls: Ten Secret Strategies That Will Improve Your Percentages
businessknowhow.com - When you review your list of phone calls you have made to prospective clients, you note these initials, or similar codes, that you wrote beside numerous names every month: HCB (He’ll call back) and SCB (She’ll call back). But do they, without additional prompting from us? Often they do not.

The Secret Of Newsgroups Marketing
smallbusinessbrief.com - How can you market your business using newsgroups? First of all, it's important to realize the sole purpose of Newsgroups is for research... NOT promotion and marketing.

Positive Relationships Are The Key to Business Success
businessknowhow.com - In business it's easy to burn bridges with people. By "burning bridges" I mean, destroy relationships with your customers, clients, employees, vendors, etc. It's one of the biggest mistakes I see businesses make. And quite frankly, it's a stupid mistake.

WordPress Small Business Blog Theme
ducttapemarketing.com - In collaboration with Cory Miller, a talented WordPress theme design, and in anticipation of my move to WordPress as my blogging platform, I'm releasing a new free WordPress theme specifically tailored for small businesses looking at starting a blog.

Ten Ways to Get Started on Your Own Home Business
powerhomebiz.com - There are several ways of starting a business. Others push through with their entrepreneurial venture quickly, while others take it more slowly. Here are ten ways that you can start your own business.

(In)Direct Marketing
clickz.com - Boy, is it ever refreshing that the mighty Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is finally facing reality and embracing the Internet as a legitimate, viable marketing channel. Best of all, this powerful body is encouraging its members to act responsibly in the online channel.

Networking Notes: New From Networld Interop
smallbusinesscomputing.com - Though the Networld Interop trade show, recently held in Las Vegas, tends to feature enterprise-grade networking wares, two areas in particular kept things interesting for SOHO and SMB networkers: wireless and an ongoing trend that sees formerly "enterprise-grade" technologies finding their way into consumer-grade gear.

Home Business - Start Organized, Stay Organized, Save Time
smallbusinessbrief.com - When you start a new home based business, it is easy to overlook or put off some of the boring mundane chores while you concentrate on building up your business.

Tired of Your Office? Nothing a Free Makeover Won't Cure
inc.com - A weekly look at the latest products and services designed to help you run a better business.

Community Pricing: Reinventing Marketing and Production
about.com - The common approach to starting a business or launching a new product is the "build it and they will come" model. What's wrong with this approach is you never know market demand and you can end up with a garage full of products waiting for the market to respond.

Marketing ROI: Getting More Out of Your Business Cards
devshed.com - I want you to get a great Return On Investment from your marketing, more bang for your buck. So, let's look at one medium you probably are spending on already, but may not be using to the fullest. How is Your Business Card's ROI?

Web 2.0: Way of the Future or Marketing Gimmick?
sitepronews.com - The term Web 2.0 has come to dramatically increased usage over the past few years. Many people have since begun to appropriate this hot new buzzword for their own websites while others are not quite so eager to embrace this new concept, considering it little more than an inappropriately named web-marketing gimmick.

Email Reputation More Important Than Content To Improve Email Deliverability Performance
emailuniverse.com - Your reputation determines your email deliverability more so than your content... at least that's the finding of a recent Lyris ISP Deliverability Report card for 1st quarter 2007.

Hot Summer Hardware
smallbusinesscomputing.com - Microsoft adds wireless bundle to ergonomic desktop line.

The Threat of Computer Viruses
nfib.com - "My computer is acting up. It must be a virus." You've undoubtedly heard comments like this or even thought this yourself. In actuality, most computer glitches are caused by software conflicts or user error.

How (and Why) to Centralize Your Email Marketing
marketingprofs.com - Picture three email campaigns. The first is poorly written, with broken links. The second has a fancy design, but it renders so badly that half the recipients can't see the offer. The third has great content and great design—but gets not-so-great results.

7 Summertime Publicity Ideas
businessknowhow.com - Now is your chance. While the marketing and public relations experts are off enjoying their hard-earned vacations, the media are left scrambling for much needed copy. Plan ahead, and give them what they're looking for!

What Skills Are Necessary for Starting a Business?
allbusiness.com - What does it take to successfully start a business? Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to be a workaholic. But you do need to enjoy work because there will be plenty of it.

Making your first sale - Practical Tips
bytestart.co.uk - I always recall an American entrepreneur saying that a business is not a business until it has made its first sale. And, of course, the first one is always the hardest!

Three Reasons you’ll be Podcasting Sooner or Later
smallbusinessbrief.com - In a recent networking situation a small business owner asked me an interesting question. “Have I missed the boat with Podcasting?”

The Top Ten Checklist to Edit Your Own Writing
smallbusinessbrief.com - Whether you are writing a book, an article, or your web site sales copy, you need to know that your words speak well for you. Power writing is not easy for most writers, yet when you know that the benefits of smart editing =more clients and customers, you will want to use the 10-item check list below.

Starting a Janitorial Service Business (Part 1)
powerhomebiz.com- Do you like to clean, how about starting a cleaning business?

Time to switch to Vista?
money.cnn.com - A small-business owner asks FSB's Anne Fisher it it's worth upgrading to Microsoft's new operating system.

Effective Interaction with Prospective Clients
morebusiness.com - The need for considerable interaction from the clients arises out of simple human nature- we like to do business with people that we know. This brings about a level of security, and customers feel at ease doing business with someone they know. Interaction goes far beyond mere introductions. In fact, it begins with the introduction and after this comes maintaining a long-term relationship.

Cash In on 'I Do'
entrepreneur.com - These 43 emerging and well-established businesses help couples tie the knot--and could help you turn a profit.

Patents as an Incentive
inc.com - Securing a patent offers an incentive to both inventors and investors.

Web Site Leverage
smallbusinessbrief.com - Ever go to a web site and find that after poking around a few pages you just click off and go to another site? Of course. It happens millions of times a day on the web. Why? Good question! This is an important one because if you can't get people to stick around your site and eventually contact you, your web site is just taking up cyberspace.

Alternatives to Ebay Showcased
auctionbytes.com - An online event called "Summer Solstice to Blue Moon" (or "SS2BM") is aimed at increasing coverage of seller's independent websites, as well promoting alternative auction sites and marketplaces to Ebay.

Tightrope: Be a leader for your employees, not a parent
usatoday.com - What do you recommend that I do about motivating my employees? I have no problem attracting good candidates. However, once hired, they don't seem to work as well as their resume and references indicated.

How WOM Affects Sender Reputation
clickz.com - Do you know what your "talkers" are saying about you? You should, because what they say can affect your quest to get your e-mail messages safely through ISP and corporate spam filters and into the inbox.

Email Right To Privacy - Why Small Businesses Care
smallbiztrends.com - We’ve become a nation of email-using business owners. That’s why it’s such a good thing that a Federal Appeals court today found that businesses have an expectation of privacy over their emails and the government can’t seize them from an ISP without a warrant.

Web Gems: Ten Free Tools for E-tailers
ecommerce-guide.com - Everyone needs a little help now and again with their Web site, especially if they don't have a Web guru or two on staff to assist in some key areas such as graphics, HTML coding, link verification and Web-based chat. In this roundup you'll find a overview of the features and licensing information for 10 Web site helpers that we downloaded, tried and recommend for small Web shop owners. Best of all, they're free.

The Domains Of The Day
businessweek.com - How two Boston entrepreneurs are making millions from names as simple as chocolate.com

5 Steps To Easily Keep Your PC Running Smooth And Fast
smallbusinessbrief.com - People want to optimize their computers so that they will be as efficient as possible; however, there are many factors associated with the performance output of a personal computer.

Iomega Plus Postini Equals MegaTini
smallbusinesscomputing.com - Back in August 2006, we reported Iomega's entry into the managed services arena, and its goal to bring enterprise-level applications to small businesses that could never otherwise afford them. Dubbed the Iomega OfficeScreen, the line consisted of a combination firewall and VPN appliance. Today's announcement adds another layer of managed service and protection to the OfficeScreen brand.

Retaining Younger Workers in the Workplace
fastcompany.com - You've hired them. Now how can you keep them around?

eBay News on Fee Reduction, PayPal Upgrade
auctionbytes.com - eBay announced last week during its annual conference that it was running a "summer relief" promotion. From June 19 through August 5, eBay will lower the first tranche of the Final Value Fees from 5.25 percent to 4.5 percent for eligible auction, auction BIN, and pure fixed-price format listings.

What’s in a Name? Using Direct and Email Lists
smartbiz.com - An oft-cited set of statistics says the success of a direct mail campaign depends 40 percent on the list of names used, 40 percent on the product offer and 20 percent on the creative presentation of your mailer. While opinions vary slightly on the breakdown, the importance of a highly responsive mailing list cannot be underestimated.

Business Strategy Secrets
morebusiness.com - There is an ever-increasing prevalence of incorporating global migration, international learning, skills recognition and multiculturalism strategies by businesses, governments and educators in order to tackle anticipated pressures in service delivery, labor supply and business investment. Business strategy motivates management and staff to recognize the benefits of developing and maintaining a global presence strategy for much greater creativity.

Matching Keywords to Landing Pages for PPC Pay Off
ecommerce-guide.com - Like every other aspect of Internet marketing, the management of pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns has come a long way in the past five years. You can no longer expect to develop a simple set of keywords, design one ad for all of them and point the campaign toward your site's home page. You have to manage these campaigns to be sure they are paying off, and this requires research and constant nurturing.

Xerox Sets MFP Phaser on SMB
smallbusinesscomputing.com - The Xerox Phaser 3200MFP's print, copy, fax and color scanning features fit into a machine sized to accommodate both the width of your desk and the depth of your wallet.

The Greatest Risk Of All
forbes.com - What's anything worth? Short answer: the amount of fear, pain and suffering you are willing to risk to get it.

Baby on Board
entrepreneur.com - Need a business idea? Have a baby. Meet some entrepreneurs whose role as fathers led to successful ventures.

Working Moms and Dads Clash on Work-Life Balance
inc.com - Half of moms say they split their time equally, compared to just 32 percent of dads, according to a new survey.

Let’s Shop Mom and Pop
businessweek.com - Consumers should go out of their way to shop at small independently run stores instead of big-box retailers such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Pro or con?

The 10 Commandments of Press Releases
sitepronews.com - In baseball, it's said that you know an umpire is top-notch when you never notice his presence. If he's doing his job, he won't call attention to himself in any way. It's much the same for the writer of a press release. When the recipient of a release focuses only on its content -- and not on its creation -- the writer has succeeded. With that in mind, here's The 10 Commandments of Press Releases.

eBay: We Are Not Captive to Google
auctionbytes.com - eBay Marketplaces North America President Bill Cobb told AuctionBytes he didn't understand the media frenzy over the eBay - Google situation that cropped up prior to this month's eBay Live conference.

Kiss Those Cables Goodbye?
pcmag.com - Organize your desk, unclutter your office, even stream video wirelessly! New technologies promise the moon, but when will they deliver?

SBA's New Patriot Express Loans Helps Veterans
mybusinessmag.com - Are you a veteran, reservist or National Guard member who wants to start or grow your business? If so, you're in luck. This week, the Small Business Administration announced a new lending program, the Patriot Express Program, designed to aid small-business owners in the military community.

Ask an Expert: Dadpreneurs, here's to you
usatoday.com - There are many reasons to work hard in your business, but for my money, the best, most rewarding reason is that it should allow you the freedom to be the kind of dad you want to be, however that looks, and it can look many different ways, that's for sure.

An Action Step is Worth a Thousand Words
about.com - Don't get me wrong; the words we use to market ourselves are important and deserve our attention. But crafting the message and delivering it are not at all the same thing. Here are some situations I've encountered with clients that illustrate this all-too-common marketing blunder.

Building Cachet With Job Applicants
startupjournal.com - When it comes to hiring, managers at small companies without big human-resources departments often struggle with getting their message across to the talent they want to attract.

How Internet Retailers are Successfully Improving their Conversion Rates
powerhomebiz.com - How are online businesses improving their conversion rates? What are they doing to turn their visitors to buyers? We looked at case studies, write-ups, testimonials and reports to see the actual steps that online companies are taking (and you can emulate) to improve their conversion rates.

Ask the Right E-mail Questions
clickz.com - Talking to people who are new to e-mail is interesting. They have a whole bunch of questions and concerns experienced e-mail marketers never talk (or worry) about. If you're asking these questions, make this column your excuse to break free and start worrying about something that really matters -- and that will really help enhance your e-mail marketing efforts.

Separating Business Credit from Personal Credit
morebusiness.com - Building up your business credit as a corporation or limited liability company is a much better option. It allows you to separate your personal assets and liabilities from those of the business. If your business incurs a debt that it is unable to repay, you will not lose your personal assets (house, car, belongings, etc.).

Highlight Your Brand with a Favicon
entrepreneur.com - Want to capture your web audience? Use a 'favorites icon.'

Preparing for a Successful Launch
businessweek.com - When sending a new product or service out into the world, a flashy launch party won't do the trick. Here's how to spend your marketing budget wisely.

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