Business Blogs: Trends, tips, and real-life anecdotes from industry experts.

It is common practice to set New Year’s resolutions in our personal lives, but how often do we do it for our business? Here are 28 Small Business Marketing Resolutions for the New Year that will inspire you to write your own.

Since I’m new here, I’ll introduce myself and give you a brief discription of what we’ll be talking about.
I’ve been working with the creators of StartUpNation since 2001 when I was hired to shoot Rich Sloan doing yoga on the conference room table in the Birmingham Michigan office of the up and coming StartUpNation.  I [...]

As you likely have heard, California passed a new tax law last week that created quite a stir, and resulted in Amazon.com terminating its affiliate program in the state effective immediately.
What you may not know, though, is that this type of law - an Affiliate Nexus tax law - could require you (not [...]

What is the biggest marketing challenge that you have in your business? According to a survey by Marketing Sherpa, 78% of businesses say that their biggest marketing challenge is generating high quality leads. What marketing strategy is the best at accomplishing that goal? The answer is not what you think.

Referencing my prior post on Creative Capitalism, here is another business with a 1 for 1 model.
A new project by California eco-urban design firm LJ Urban aims to make giving more concrete—quite literally—by matching its sales of homes domestically with funds to build homes in the impoverished African nation of Burkina Faso.

Urban has designed a [...]

Looks like the Obama’s should have registered their last name to enjoy ongoing royalties. Some interesting examples of halo branding. Where businesses capitolize on the brand elements of another entity. Examples: ATT + TOMs Shoes, Obama Red Wine (below)
Maybe I should pick up some Obama Red to wash down my Freedom Fries…
From Speigel Online:
French Vintner [...]

Great site: www.embracethelemon.com
Terrific example of a website that is almost 100% twitter feeds + has great you tube promotion. See their youtube channel.

The Lemon’s Lament

I wonder if products have the same experience people do, that when they meet their match, they feel like they are “home?” I’ll bet the product manager of this doosey has earned his bonus:
Hillshire Farm ham and turkey + reusable Gladware
= Green, Money Saving, The-Big-Corporation-Proves-It-Can-Still-Listen-To-Customers

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What partnerships could you consider in your business?
Example: B&B could supply guests with brunch [...]

When you consider your business model (which includes your marketing efforts), you generally concentrate on these core components:

Why will people pay you? (money, votes, donations)
What does it cost you to sell your item…margins?
What protects you from competition, price-feature battles?
How will you turn an agnostic audience into loyal customers?

Early on when transactions had no costs, doing [...]

I picked up a book in the airport recently: Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. It’s a fast read and has enough tabloid photos to keep you interested. Her come-sit-by-me-and-dish point of view is disarming and I genuinely enjoyed her tales, her vulnerability and her wit. More importantly, I respect what she is doing.

Wishful Drinking

Carrie Fisher [...]