StartupNation Blogs

As a business owner, I love being my company’s “evangelist.” I get huge kicks from educating and exciting people about becoming a customer. But frankly, there’s an even more important—though arguably less exhilarating—aspect to closing new business. We call it, the art of follow up.
�
My feelings about this were confirmed and further fueled at [...]

As the “royalty” status of Hollywood stars has risen, so has their effectiveness as key influencers in consumer purchasing behaviors. Celebrity product placement is considered an “influencer-marketing” approach for helping brands increase their competiveness in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Marketers and small business owners can harness that power through strategic product placement opportunities that have [...]

I just cringe when I call a business and get some home recording message from a 1980’s answering machine. All home-based businesses need a professional answering service. Whether you are a solo entrepreneur looking for a professional “staff member” (i.e. virtual phone service) to field calls, or an at-home sales rep missing sales leads [...]

Do you have an idea for a great, niche product or service but think it’s already available? You may be able to start a great business with your idea. Check out this interview with Tasha Golden who helped to create “The Hymn Project,” www.thehymnprojectCDs.com.
What is The Hymn Project?
“The Hymn Project” is a 7-CD collection [...]

Whether you are creating a new Web site or reviewing the one you already have, there are three key factors to keep in mind.
Are you guilty of these three Web site sins?
1. Visitors can’t get the information they need.
This is pretty obvious, but often overlooked. It can be enticing to use fancy videos, too many keywords, [...]

Do you really need a newsletter? Well, if you don’t have one, you are missing out on a cost-effective way to attract new business and provide loyal customers with valuable information.
Here’s how it works it three simple points:
1. Think about what your customers want.
How you can provide your customers with new and worthwhile information?
How can you [...]

With over 70% of the economic experts expecting a last quarter uptick in the economy, now is the perfect time to start preparing for the extra business.  I am a big fan of using virtual assistants to help build out my team during peak seasons.  This is an especially useful business strategy in today’s [...]

When you’re on a bootstrap marketing budget, you can never have too many friends in media.  If you don’t have those connections now, there’s still hope.  You just might be able to win a few new media friends with the social media darling, Twitter.  Twitter has been a favorite of the media and public relations [...]

To follow up on a previous post requesting feedback on topics and offering to highlight members of the community, I learned of a company called Crossing Gaps — they help bring creative people (writers, artists, musicians, startups) online. Crossing Gaps helps them with everything from web design to marketing and monetization strategy so they can [...]

The first thing that many new entrepreneurs think about when they hear “public relations” is sending out a press release. Sure, a press release can help build buzz online.
�
But if you want a feature story written about your business, it’s essential to pitch specific media members directly.
�
And with today’s economy, this can be a [...]