StartupNation Blogs

In the process of promoting your products and services to potential customers, are you also promoting yourself?
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Competition is fierce today, and people want more for their money. This means that they are not just looking at products and services – but the people behind the businesses as well.
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With this in mind, what kind of image [...]

If you want to increase your level of returning customers, there is one major thing that you need to take care of at the very beginning of every relationship - Expectations.
This may sound simple, but if you don’t spell out what you are going to provide for the money, you can run into major confusion [...]

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.
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My feelings about this were confirmed and further fueled at [...]

As Halloween approaches, you’ll see spooky ghosts, goblins and monsters everywhere. But for many of us, the real scare comes from talking to media members.
If picking up the phone to pitch a reporter gives you the chills, here are three simple tips to make the experience less frightful:
1. Prepare.
Before calling a reporter, know what that person [...]

Many new clients tell me that they have a blog, but no one is reading it. Other clients ask me if they need a blog.
Well, if you have a blog, or are wondering if you need one, you may have these questions:
• What’s the point?
Before you start writing, figure out why you want to have a [...]

With the popularity of performance shows like “Fame,” “Glee,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Dancing with the Stars,” etc., it got me thinking. Ever see some of the performers warm up singing, “Mi, Mi, Mi…?”
Well, this could be the theme song on many of the Web sites I review these days!
Do You Fall Into [...]

Recently, I caught up with Bruce Freeman, The Small Business Professor (aka “Professor Bruce”) to get his current thoughts on small business success.
In addition to having a syndicated, small business column with Scripps Howard, teaching and running his own marketing and public relations business, Bruce is the co-author of the entrepreneurship book, “Birthing the Elephant.” Here’s what [...]

Since many of you commented on my last blog entry, here are three more free tools to help you with your small business PR activities:
1. Help a Reporter Out
PR Pro Peter Shankman set up this great site at http://www.helpareporter.com/. Simply enter your name and e-mail information. And each day, you’ll receive a list of reporters [...]

If you are tempted to save money and write your own marketing materials and website copy, please stop and think about it.
Although copywriters may be expensive, they can help you:
- Optimize conversion rates;
- Build credibility;
- Reach targeted audiences;
- Increase search engine placements;
- Assist you with your overall, Web architecture; and
- Grow sales fast!
And even if [...]

Recently, I caught up with Cynthia Good, CEO, founding editor and co-owner of the award-winning PINK Magazine, www.PINKmagazine.com. PINK reaches more than two million professional women every year and has raised more than $60,000 for nonprofits benefiting women and girls.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Cynthia was a news anchor on television stations nationwide, created her own [...]