As entrepreneurs, I’m sure many of you can relate to the “digital leash.” We get so wrapped up being available to customers, employees and associates, and responding at the speed of light, that’s it’s easy to forget about life priorities. Well, if you disconnect for a short time, guess what can happen?

•    You’ll actually get some rest.

Just by reading an e-mail, you can instantly be whisked back into a stressful, work-mode. Without having to check online messages and voicemail, you can actually let your mind go and completely stop thinking about work!

•    You’ll think of creative, business ideas.

When you are not reminded about all of your work responsibilities, you can think about other things and take in new surroundings. With this inspiring process, your train of thought may bring you back to work ideas and you’ll think of creative, new solutions that can help you run a better business.

•    You’ll discover it’s time for a change.

If you are taking a break from your digital connections, you may realize you are overwhelmed, exhausted and really need a change. If you can’t stand the thought of going back to your usual work activities after your “digital disconnection,” this may be a sign that it’s time to set new goals and pursue other, life dreams.

What will happen when you unplug?

Are you stressed out about work and your daily grind? Well, the Memorial Holiday is this weekend. What a perfect time to “unplug” from all of your digital products and enjoy some time off!

Spend time with positive people, visit new places and unwind. You’ll give your mind and body a break from your usual, work routine. And who knows? During that time, you may come up with some new ideas that will revive your love for your work or even develop goals for new, life dreams.

Take a break already and let me know how it goes!

For more information on running a smoother business while increasing online awareness, please contact me below or check out my free tips and information at www.rembrandtwrites.com.

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Here are five marketing lessons small business owners can learn from Google.  I’m sure there are more, leave your thoughts in the comments below!  We always love to hear from you!

1. Be Really, Really Good at One Thing

Before Google took on the Earth or built the Android, it did one thing better than anyone else, Internet Search.  As the foundation of all things Google, their search engine and search technology was innovative in the beginning and continues to be innovative today.  By committing to being really, really good at this one thing and maintaining that commitment, Google built a reputation in the market as a trusted resource.  This kind of relationship with the consumer is pure marketing gold.

2. Don’t Rest on Your Laurels

Once Google had secured their place as the top search engine, they didn’t stop there.  Rather than reveling in the fact that they owned online search, they continued to refine and revise their search algorithms and functionality to make the customers’ experience better.  They understand that the competition is feverishly at work trying to copy their success.  To that end, Google works to stay one step ahead of their competition, improving their main product, inventing new ones.  This step is critical and something many small businesses fail to do.  Having a great product may put you on top but it won’t keep you there.

3. Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Even though Google owns the Internet marketing space and continues to redefine the way other companies market online, they continue use a variety of other marketing methods that includes email marketing, direct mail marketing, and even telemarketing.   By using a variety of marketing strategies, Google ensures they are reaching all of their potential customers, not just those who are already invested in and interested in Internet marketing.  If Google isn’t relying only online search to market their business why should you?

4. Be Innovative

Even though Google continues to do their one thing really well, they also recognize the power of expansion and diversity.  The company is committed to creating a culture that embraces and inspires innovation.   This innovative attitude has created things like Google Earth, the Android Operating System, and Google Maps.   Even though not all products are successful (Google Wave for example) the innovation required to create these new products becomes a stepping stone for creating new (and often successful) products in the future.  You’re not always going to hit a home run in your marketing, but you always should be swinging.

5. Have Fun

Google also embraces the idea that business doesn’t have to be boring.  I love this! What other company do you know is able to routinely modify their logo without compromising their brand?  This is something Google does on a regular basis with Google Doodles, the alternative logo designs that grace the Google home page for special events and holidays.  Not only does this create a lot of fun for Google Users, (and I’m sure Google employees as well) it also creates a lot of marketing buzz for Google.  They’ve often been featured on television, radio and newspaper just because of their fun Google Doodle.

Another thing that Google does is hides little surprises (or jokes) in the search engine function.  These surprises, called “Easter Eggs” are search terms that produce unexpected screen behaviors or interesting page results. For example, when you type in the words “do a barrel roll” into Google and you screen starts spinning around.  Google’s antics not only create buzz for the company and increase customer engagement, and I’m sure, satisfaction as well.  It’s a well-known fact that humor sells.  Google uses humor as a part of its regular routine.

Google makes it clear that when it comes to marketing your business, you need to have a diversified strategy.    What other marketing lessons can we learn from Google?

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free e-book called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney the Founder of 23 Kazoos, a Marketing and Public Relations firm in Phoenix, Arizona, that is relentless about results.  She is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

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86 common sense marketing tips for startups.

From Chris Yoko of Yoko Co - Interactive Marketing

1.      Be engaging and responsive - whether in person, on the phone or through social media, enable customers and fans to talk about you by talking to them.

2.      Use video! Explain your product or service, how it works, why it’s useful. You can illustrate elements text just can’t convey.

3.      Show proof. Even if you have to give it away a time or two, get some information that proves it works and is worth it!

From Kristin Marquet of Marquet Media, LLC

4.      Have a marketing plan - I don’t care if it’s on paper or in your head, just make sure you have a marketing plan!

5.      Don’t max out your credit cards on advertising.

6.      Hire a copywriter who understands your audience.

From Mark Huggans of AffordableHealthcare.US (Click-Shop-Insure.com)

7. Your marketing must indicate you can solve a problem.

8. Craft your message based on existing customer feedback or comments.

9. Old but true, have a call to action, press their buttons so the prospect will react.

From Brandon Spalding of Hirschler Fleischer, P.C.

10.  Always be truthful. Your investors, once outside the close friends and family stage, will do due diligence on your company and trust is a major component of early stage investment. Be realistic in your valuation, financial projections and time horizons and be prepared to defend each of them. Prepare a best case, expected case and worst case set of financial projections for your investors that you believe to be conservative in each case. Once trust is lost, it can’t be regained so don’t tell your investors just what you think they want to hear. This will also help keep you away from securities laws problems.

11.  Nail the business plan. Truly understand all of the relevant facets and players in your target market and how you are different or better than your potential competition. You must also have a clear and articulable method of monetizing your business. A great idea, without more, is not going to attract investors once your business is outside the close friends and family stage.

12.  Preserve your equity. You may need to go through a number of investment rounds before your business reaches profitability and each round will dilute your original ownership. Accordingly, be mindful of not offering up too much of your ownership to investors early in the life of the company. In addition, consider phantom equity plans to incentivize and reward early employees and advisors to also help you maintain as much control of your company as possible.

From Andrea Bailiff-Gush of HoneyApps, Inc.

13.  Test every marketing channel to see if it will work for your business. After a specified period of time, if the marketing channel doesn’t result in more website traffic or conversions for your business, stop using it. Don’t assume a marketing channel is or isn’t a good fit for your business until you have tried it.

14.  Define a list of metrics your startup will track on a specified basis. Your business will use these metrics to measure your success as a business and find out where you’re succeeding and where you’re falling behind.

15.  Stay current on startup marketing trends. Startups are agile, as there are lower barriers to making changes, therefore startups can start and stop marketing activities very quickly. Startups should use this to their advantage by staying current on what other startups learned while marketing their business and try some of their suggested tactics. You might just discover an easy and successful way to reach prospects. Use Quora, blogs (The KISSmetrics blog is a great one), and Twitter to stay current.

From Lindsay Durfee of Cookerly Public Relations

16.  Don’t market for the sake of marketing. Before launching a marketing campaign, you must know why you want publicity in the first place. Your marketing goal should be intrinsically linked to your business goals. Are you seeking to drive sales? To build your reputation? To raise awareness of an issue and motivate people to action? Define these goals first.

17.  Consider your options. Somewhere between hiring a PR or marketing agency and going it alone, there are accelerators out there that work with tech entrepreneurs to launch and build successful companies. One example is our client, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). Many of ATDC’s members are able to use ATDC’s communication and media channels for an extra visibility boost.

18.  Know your resources. Your team was assembled from some very talented professionals. Do you have strong writers on staff? A videographer? A former journalist? Look within to find resources you may not know you have-and to see where you may need to supplement. Additionally, your team is most likely the most passionate about your company, and you can use that to your advantage when connecting with journalists or drafting marketing documents.

From Adam Rodnitzky of Favo.rs

19.  Always be credible - don’t make claims to the public that you can’t back up in reality with your startup

20.  Find your unique angle - the world won’t care if they’ve heard your message dozens of times already from other startups

21.  Be available - When nobody recognizes your startup, you’re the only thing that will let people know that it is legit. Respond to users, bloggers, and the media whenever they reach out to you so they know there is a face behind the app.

From Louisa Gehring of Semper Finest Care Packages

22.  Don’t underestimate the power of social media: it’s (mostly) free, and can result in word-of-mouth marketing and viral buzz

23.  Don’t place ads that aren’t trackable: money is always tight with startups, so you can’t afford to pay $ for an ad if you don’t know if it’s successful. Create separate landing pages for each ad placed (particularly with print ads) so you can see how effective it is.

24.  Don’t lie about your age: if you’re just starting out, having impeccable service and a great product will speak for you. Don’t market yourself older/more established than you are, or you will suffer when clients find out.

From Albe Zakes  of TerraCycle

25.  Now is the time for PR: Editorial consideration is easiest to get when a story is fresh. If you are in the startup phase, that describes your story. Pitch any and all media outlets covering any relevant topics. Using PR can help you save those precious startup dollars. Then you can switch to more traditional marketing as you are more established and have additional revenue coming in. Now is the time to get it for free.

26.  Don’t overlook the blogosphere - From ‘Green Blogs’ to ‘BizBlogs’ to ‘Mommy Blogs’ these online assets need interesting content and you should have an interesting story for them. Blogs many seem small and far to common, but they can quickly go viral and make for great social media messaging and cross-promo opportunities with the blogger themselves. Start building your blog and social networks now and they will be a powerful tool for you later.

27.  Use Industry Associations and Consumer Groups - These third party affiliations can help you establish your brand and reputation, create PR opportunities and cross-promotional value on Facebook and Twitter. Sometimes these groups are looking for membership fees, but they are often willing to help startups in their industries now, in return for future considerations (think Alum associations). Even if you can’t talk your way around the fees, they are still a whole lot cheaper than most advertising options.

28.   Get your Guerrilla On - Guerrilla tactics might seem passé at this point and certainly their peak has passed. But they are still a great low-cost of getting your brand out into the public eye and driving good PR. Just be sure it doesn’t back fire and create negative media or wrongly portray your brand.

From Sarah Sypniewski of Bark Pet Photography

29.  Design a beautiful and professional-looking website–and keep it updated.

30.  Get your social media presence established immediately–and post often.

31.  Build in-person relationships with already-established partners and entrepreneurs in your field and related fields. It’s important to surround yourself with people who are ahead of you in the game so they can be role models. Plus, you never know who they will introduce you to down the line!

From Mike Scanlin of Born To Sell

32.  Don’t overpromise and under deliver. Only market features you currently have, not ones you will have in 3 months.

33.  Don’t publicly slam your competitors. Focus on your positives, not their negatives.

34.   Don’t overspend on unproven marketing tactics. Do a small test with everything, measure results, and only do more if it’s profitable.

From Shel Horowitz of Green And Profitable

35.  Keep your marketing expenses low by using partnership marketing, expertise marketing, and publicity

36.  Understand what makes you special and different–why people would want to buy from you instead of someone else

37.   Marketing is not about your slogan, logo, colors, etc. It’s about your relationships and the customer/prospect’s *perception* of your firm.

From Marisa Brayman of Stadri Emblems

38. Be willing to spend money to make money.

39. Utilize all the free tools you can find.

40. Don’t forget the power of word-of-mouth.

From Victor Kwegyir of Vike Invest (UK) Ltd.

41. Identify your target market.

42.  Establish what marketing category you want to establish yourself in. That is, whether you want to become a market category leader, challenger, follower, or niche player?

43.   Communicate the benefits of what your business offers to your target market.

From Drew Stevens Ph.D. of Stevens Consulting Group

44.  Strategy is vital to success. Over 94 percent of business owners use tactical things that get them nowhere; having a marketing strategy is vital to the success of business.

45.  The business must be built as a brand much like you shop for products and services. This requires building awareness and community.

46.  Marketing - At the beginning, middle and end of the day you are in the marketing business and it must be consistently and relentlessly applied to all you do.

From Ciara Pressler of Pressler Collaborative

47.  Start with the most desirable crowd. Don’t try to market to everyone at once.

48.  Don’t position yourself as “the new ___” - if another site is already doing it well, don’t compete. Show what’s different about you.

49.   Don’t skimp on branding. A successful business becomes iconic, and your logo, colors, and verbiage are a huge part of driving that.

From Carole Holden of Gelmtree Advertising Consulting

50.  Determine who your ideal customer/client is.

51.  Figure out where to find them.

52. Speak their language.

From Sean Star of Media Star Marketing

53.  Develop your positioning strategy: who you are targeting, the size of the market, and how you are creating a divergence that is unique and beneficial
to the current market.

54.  Develop your identity concept: logo, colors, and printed and web marketing materials layout (business cards, brochures, banners, website, email
signature, etc.)

55.   Develop an advertising, social media and public relations strategy for the first 12 months (you will update this throughout the year).

From Shannon Mouton of Topaz Consulting

56.  Get business cards that are easy to read, with all of your contact information and utilize the back. It’s space going to waste.

57.  Tell everyone you know family, friends, former co-workers and folks in your bowling league. If you don’t tell them, how will they know?

58.   Get a new, professional sounding email address. “Drinking Buddy” and “PinkSwan” are fine personal email account usernames. You’re in business, you want to be taken seriously and you want to get paid for your products and services.

From John Parker of Guy Parker’s BBQ Sauce and Marinade

59.  A small business must understand their market- who are their customers, whether wholesale or retail.

60.  Find every advantage possible that your product or service has, and then explore non conventional paths to take.

61.  Never ever mislead your audience. You must lead your customers by the hand, but in the right direction.

From Lisa Manyon of Write On ~ Creative Writing Services, LLC

62.  Defy the norm and use the new marketing model for success. Instead of creating marketing messages based on the antiquated model of “Problem.  Agitate. Solve.” use the “Challenge. Solution. Invitation.” Formula.

63.  Challenge: Know your ideal clients have challenges. Acknowledge them. Understand them. Don’t dwell on them or try to “agitate” or exaggerate the situation.

64.  Solution: Offer a genuine solution to eliminate or alleviate the challenge. Come from a place of service first. Build relationships with
your solution.

65.  Invitation: Avoid hard sell tactics at all cost. Instead extend a friendly invitation to take the next step and move towards the solution.
This is also considered your “call to action”. It’s extended in a way thatbuilds relationships and treats people as people, not numbers.

From Tom Gullen of Scirra Ltd

66.  Honesty and integrity, these go a long way in every aspect of business including marketing successes. Sounds cheesy but it’s totally true

67.  Play to your strengths, white hat SEO is best for startup businesses for long term success.

68. When ‘cold’ emailing reporters, keep the email concise as possible.

From Katie Hughes, PhD of Dance Yourself Fit LLC

69.   Know who is going to buy your product and get your ads there (ex. If they go to a conference, then you sponsor the conference; if they all pay attention to Facebook, pay for highly targeted Facebook ads). If there are “connectors” in your target market, spend your money getting your message to them first. It helps to be or have been a part of the market you are selling to so you know about their habits.

70.  Make sure the selling points are truly from the point of view of the customer (not just how awesome your product is but what the customer is going to get as a result of using it) - know WHY they should pay attention to you versus your competition.

71.  Make your company and your ads look professional and reliable (not like you’re a start up) using good designs/photographs and credibility indicators.

From Elena Barbera of Worthy Words Writing

72.  Market every day. So many startups (especially solo entrepreneurs) get so caught up in a whirlwind of trivial tasks that they don’t spend time every day bringing in new business. If you reached 10, 20, or 100 new people every day, you’d get business. But if you’re spending too much time organizing your files or setting up your QuickBooks, you’re keeping yourself busy, but not earning.

73.  Only target your niche. This bears repeating, so here goes: Only target your niche. Don¹t try to get everyone as a customer. Unless you’re the electric company, everyone doesn¹t want your products and services. So don’t spend time and money marketing custom skateboard wheels to Florida retirees.  Market to the Warped Tour crowd and you¹ll be off to a much better start.

74.  Don’t expect social media to do it all for your business right in the beginning. It’s no secret that social media can have a HUGE impact on business. But in the beginning, it’s all about planting seeds and then watering them so they grow. The harvest doesn’t come until the fall. So putting all your eggs into that one basket won’t get you quick returns.

From Joy Gendusa of PostcardMania

75. Understand and isolate your target market.

76.  Find out what their buttons are - what will make them respond - using surveys.

77.  Formulate your message based on the buttons and pound the same message home over and over again to that audience using several marketing
channels.

From Travis Robertson of The Don’t Settle Group

78.  Don’t try to outspend the more-established competition. You don’t have their budgets (yet!).

79.  Don’t forget the phone. Everyone is focused on social and email marketing. The phone will often get you straight to a decision maker. I’ve made a lot of money by picking up the phone.

80.  Don’t be an inch deep and a mile wide. People spread their marketing efforts to wide. Rather than making great use of a few strategies, they chase every shiny, new tactic and then give up when “it doesn’t work” after only a marginal attempt.
From Michael Pesochinsky of GovernmentAuctions.org

81.  The more you plug your business the less you market it. Let your product or service speak for itself. It will testify to the solidarity of your brand. If you just keep saying you are great then no one will listen.

82.  The best kind of marketing is word-of-mouth. This is an old adage that still applies in this digital age. If your brand generates a buzz then it would spread like wildfire among people who can use it.

83.  Any publicity is not good publicity. Bad press could severely hurt a startup. For example if you develop an app that is untested and has glitches right off the bat and release it without marking it BETA - its bad reviews will diminish its potential for adaptation into virtual non existence.

From Jocelyn Saurini of Red Blue Voice

84.  “Set Goals. Track Progress.” Just because your business is new and your goals are modest, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t set tangible goals and track against them. Even if the goal is only one new conversion per month, good marketing happens within a system. Set up that system from the start. It will keep you on track and help you with rule number three.

85.  “Think Small. ” The reason for creating a startup is because you think big, but when it comes to marketing you need to think in small, manageable steps. It would be great if your startup were immediately featured on Mashable or in the New York Times. However, if that’s where you put your energy you’re shooting at stars. Sure, you may hit a star, but the odds are against you. Think in terms of small gradual steps like content creation, social media, and networking. The results will be slower, but you’ll be working with proven methods to increase and grow awareness rather than hoping for a big hit that may not come (and may not give you long-term results even if it does).

86. “Don’t Get Distracted. Stay the Course.” When it’s your startup, it’s easy to panic and start to “throw things at the wall” if your initial marketing strategy doesn’t work. After all, you have a lot riding on this. But if your marketing strategy was well thought out, you need to give it time to develop. Yes, be nimble and ready to adjust to things that you learn about your market and product, but don’t start changing the strategy out of panic or without a clear roadmap.

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free e-book called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney the Founder of 23 Kazoos, a Marketing and Public Relations firm in Phoenix, Arizona, that is relentless about results.  She is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

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When I first started my business, every conference that I attended dropped me into an environment of all new people because business was a brand new field for me.  Getting on a plane or in a car to attend a conference near or far with several hundred people that I never met before has made me a bit of a warrior in the area.

In fact, now when I choose a conference, I look for ones that will allow me to meet new people and partake of different information.  What can I say?  I am a renegade.

As I was leaving last week, a colleague asked me if I was ready to head off to a destination that I never went to before with people that I did not know.  My response was ‘Absolutely.’  Don’t get me wrong, I felt some jitters, but mostly I was excited.

You see, going to meet new people at an unknown conference or environment is not only daring and bold, but also savvy.  The business world is a big, wide open space, and with all the virtual opportunities, it is easy to get lost in a sea of avatars.  I love networking online and chatting on Twitter as much as the next person, but those transactions must translate into REAL LIFE for them to really push forward.

It is so easy to hide behind our laptops and tablets with a false sense that we are connecting with lots of people, and often, online connections are amazing.  However, in order to make greater partnerships, referral networks, and lasting relationships, some of these connections must become IRL (In Real Life). Although, we spread our avatars all over the internet, it really is crucial to put an actual face with a name.

Although it is imperative to keep current relationships fresh and ongoing, it is also imperative to make new ones.  My goal for this year was to choose one brand-spanking new conference to attend in comparison to last year when they were all new.  I had to reserve some time and money to attend one or two that I loved from last year in order to both pay it forward and stay in touch IRL with contacts.

Last week was the NEW one.  The conference where I knew nobody and had no idea what to expect.  What started out as a nerve wracking experience proved to be both fruitful and fun.

Of course, I had my survival tips ready.

(Attending a New) Conference Survival Tactics:

1. Smile.  Look happy.  Whether you are nervous, scared or feel like you are going to be sick, put a happy face on because it makes you way more approachable.
2. Forget Avatars. You see that picture by my name here?  Guarantee you that in person, I look nothing like it.  Don’t memorize avatars and think you will recognize anyone.
3. Don’t Prequalify. Leave judgement at home.  The most unassuming person may be your best contact or the one person that you are just dying meet, may prove to be a dud.  In other words, meet and greet as many people as you can!  Move around the room, change seats or tables, and introduce yourself to as many people as possible.
4. Be ready to conduct business. Really.  Bring extra business cards, notepads, pens, laptop/tablets/chargers, and even any legal documents as in non-disclosures if they apply.
5. Takes notes. After meeting someone, make a few notes on their card or in a  notebook so you are prepared for a little conversation when following up.

Yes, you must follow up with the contacts that you meet and make an effort to move the relationship forward.

I would love to hear about your adventures of heading to conferences…

To read more about the simple, yet practical advice I heard on work life balance, read here.

Rachel

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With this in mind, what actions are you going to take right away to make things happen with your PR and search engine optimization (SEO) activities?

Here are 3 ideas to help you get going:

1.    Send out a press release optimized for the search engines.

Make sure it provides valuable information to your customers and the media.

2.    Write an original article or blog and see if a media venue would like to post the content.

If not, post it on your Website and add your top, SEO keywords to the copy.

3.    Create a targeted pitch for a specific media-member and call that person on the phone.

You have nothing to lose, and some potential publicity to gain.

Just by taking a few, simple actions, you can get your spring activities in full bloom so you’ll be ready for summer. Take some time to plan what you are going to do, and then do it! You may surprise yourself at the results!

What about you?

Do you have some good advice on taking action and completing goals that you’d like to share? Please let me know below or at www.rembrandtwrites.com

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When you can’t take on any more clients and you can set whatever fees you want because you are booked solid with work, this is called a “happiness problem.”

And while it can be wonderful to have all this new work and money rolling in, it can also be a problem in that you now need to deal with an overload of business accordingly to keep customers happy and the referrals coming in to grow your business.

Now, most of you are probably dreaming about this scenario. You would love to have a “happiness problem.” Well, even though the economy is tough, I know several business owners experiencing this right now. Their bank accounts are full, and their products and services are in demand.

These entrepreneurs prove that it’s possible so how can you get to this point too? Well, here are a few tips to get you started in the right direction:

Three Ways to Create a Happiness Problem

1.    Excel at customer service.

Good customer service has become a rarity these days with all of the inexpensive outsourcing going on.

If you can answer customer questions quickly and provide accurate information with a personal touch, you will win new customers and increase positive word-of-mouth.

2.    Exceed expectations.

If you want to stand out from the competition, over-deliver on what your customer is expecting. Keep your promises but also provide something else. This may be an extra discount, free shipping, additional services, a surprise gift, etc.

Let your customers know they are important to you and always give them want they want with a little extra something to make them feel special.

3.    Make communication easy.

Once you provide excellent products and services and make your customers feel important, be sure to have great, communication processes in place. Give your customers referral cards and tell them to share their experience with your business with their friends.

Also, include valuable information on your Website with the appropriate e-mails, phone numbers and addresses. Offer places for people to post testimonials and feedback. If people want to refer you to others, do you make it easy for them? It may sound simple, but with the right referral process in place, you may be just steps away from a “happiness problem”!

Take Action!

Most of the entrepreneurs I know who have “happiness problems” right now work very hard. They care about the products and services that they offer their customers. More important, they take action on good ideas and make things happen.

After all, it’s one thing to dream about charging whatever fees you want and having customers knocking on your door. It’s another thing to take action to make this dream a reality. A “happiness problem” is waiting for you. Use these tips to get going. After all, it’s up to you to make it happen!

If you need help with your communications and SEO copywriting, please write to me below or check out the free tips at www.rembrandtwrites.com.

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The Top 5 Reasons You Should Not Write a Blog.

1.  You are a horrible writer.

If you are a terrible writer and hate to write, please do not write a blog. Not only will you provide a bad impression, but most people will not even read your entries because they are so badly written.

2.  You have nothing to say.

What are you going to write about? You need to offer your audience valuable insights, tips and information. If you can’t think of anything to write about, your blog will turn into a weekly nightmare of staring at a blank page.

3.  You can’t provide new entries each week.

Blogs are a part of social media so that means you need to be social and interact with your audience on a regular basis. If you are unable to post a blog entry at least once a week, and respond to reader comments when they are posted, you and your business will appear outdated and that you don’t care.

If you can’t post regularly, it’s better not to post at all.

4.  Your customers don’t read blogs.

Hold on! Before you start writing, have you checked your audience demographics? Do your customers read blogs on a regular basis?

Some traditional companies will not do well with blogs simply because their audience members are not online. Know your customers. If you’re not sure whether or not a blog will work, conduct a test. Write a few blogs and see if anyone comments on them or clicks on the links you provide within the blog entries. If no one responds or reads your blogs, it’s best to find another medium your audience will react to more favorably.

5.  You don’t have an action plan.

What are you trying to accomplish? If you are just writing to write, you are wasting time and effort. Create goals for your blog entries and ways to measure the results. This way, you’ll see what’s working and what isn’t to provide the best content possible in the most cost-effective way possible.

Blogs aren’t for everyone.

Blogs are a great way to interact with your customers and get noticed by the search engines. But if you are a bad writer, can’t provide value and don’t have end goals, your blog may end up wasting you time, money and effort.

Study your audience and figure out what they want and how they like to receive information. Then, set goals based on this information and your overall, marketing plan. At this point, it may be wise to hire an SEO copywriter to write and manage your blog process for you so that you can focus on your core, business responsibilities.

By approaching your blog process in the right way, you can provide value to your audience, increase SEO and improve sales and customer relations.

For more help with your SEO copywriting and blog writing, please write to me below or at www.rembrandtwrites.com.

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1.  Have a Giveaway

Tip #1- Do giveaways on Facebook, your blog, and/or other blogs that have a lot of traffic. Give away something small from your business about once a month and ask that to enter the contest, you must “like” your Facebook page. There are several free giveaway apps on Facebook that will even send the message to their followers and also run the contest by picking the winner for you. I’ve watched my fan page grown from about 200 likes to almost 3,000 likes in around 6 months just from giveaways, and I get many customers and a lot of feedback also from these giveaways.

Thanks to:  Megan Andrus from My Accessory Business

One budget friendly way to market your business is to sponsor a giveaway on a blog or Facebook. I have sponsored giveaways and regularly give things away on my Confessions of a Coupon Queen Facebook page. (I call it “Win It Wednesday.”) Here’s how it works. A small business will give me a gift certificate or some product to give away to my fans, usually in the $25 value range. I plug the company at least three times before the giveaway. I use Rafflecopter to administer the giveaway. It allows me to require my fans to like the sponsor’s Facebook page, subscribe to their Twitter feed, etc. I have sponsored giveaways for other blogs and Facebook pages which, in one instance, netted me over 500 new fans. People love free stuff! And $25 is pretty cheap advertising.

Thanks to: Christine Luken of Strong Tower, LLC

2.  Feature Your Customers

We are a company that designs and supplies custom embroidered patches for clients such as Boy Scouts, motorcycle clubs, fire departments, and more.  I sent out an email to all of our previous customers telling them that we want to hear their story and we want to feature them on our blog. I asked them to reply with a little background about their organization and how they use their patches. I even told them if they’d like, they could send some images of their patches in use. The response was overwhelming. It turns out our customers love us! I got so many responses of stories as well as high praise.

This fosters great customer relationships. If we took the time to write about someone and promote him or her on our website, whom do you think that person is going to return to when they need the same type of services again? There’s little question. Not only that, but we get free promotion too. Everyone loves to see his or her name in print, so they share and tweet the article and tell their friends about it. If any of their friends need this service, whom do you think they are now going to use? Also, when potential customers see it, it will convince them to use us, because they will see what a great relationship we have with our customers.

Thanks to: Marisa Brayman of Stadri Emblems

3.  Use Local Media Outlets to Spread the Word

If you need local traffic, contact your local media contact like newspapers or local TV stations to get your business written up by the business editor or featured on the TV and the story is usually assigned by the assignment desk.  This also works for state business publications or regional newspapers.

You can also submit info to talk radio stations.   Most local radio stations will trade radio commercials for gift certificates.  Some will do full trades, others half trade and half cash.  If you are a retailer, the trade can be product or certificates and the cash can come from your co-op advertising dollars that your vendors offer or just your cash.   Don’t have time to search for your co-op dollars?  Call your local radio station and ask for a sales rep.  They will do the search for you as they are members of RAB (Radio Advertising Bureau) for free but want you business.  You will need to give them all your vendor names in order to do the search.  Most co-op dollars that do radio also do TV print, etc.

Thanks to: Tina Janke Midtown Marketing Group Inc.

4.  Partner with Other Local Businesses

I, like everyone else am trying all kinds of things to get the word out about my new product.  The latest thing I did was join a Gym. In particular the Gold’s Gym in Gastonia, NC. They have a program that helps promote small businesses by advertising for us if we offer a discount to their members. In addition I get a discount for myself and all my employees. Truly a round of winning.

Thanks to: Marni Peters of Idea Incubator Inc.

5.  Spend $5

I’d recommend Fiverr.com as a great way to market your business on a budget. Fiverr is a global marketplace where people can buy and sell goods for as little as $5 and currently lists more than 500,000 gigs. Businesses can use anything from SEO enhancement services to promotional video making - all for the price of a latte!

Thanks to: Allison Brady or Atomic PR

6.  Use YouTube

One of my favorite budget-friendly marketing ideas is employed by Expert Laser Services, an IT consultant and printer repair service that created a “Destroy Your Printer” YouTube contest. People submitted videos of themselves destroying their nonfunctional printers in creative ways: throwing printers out the window, hunting them down and shooting them in the woods, etc. The contest itself didn¹t attract the large number of entries that they expected…but ultimately created a buzz online that lead to more than 4,000 views and thousands of dollars in new sales.

Thanks to: David Langton of Langton Cherubino Group, Ltd.

7.  Give Customers Something that Creates Conversations

Randomly sending some of our best fundraisers a Go Get Funding T-shirt. That surprise and low-cost gift helps to build a great relationship. And as a bonus, they’ll have a story to tell anyone that asks a question about the shirt.

Thanks to:  Sandip Singh from Go Get Funding

8.  Use Creative Handouts

When speaking with local organizations to even national ones, I create a personalized bookmark and give them to everyone. The bookmark is double sided with one side holding the key point of the speech and the other size a place to write some sort of goals.

These have been very successful and only cost me the ink to print and the cardstock. In using a Microsoft word document, I secure 4 bookmarks per 8-1/2×11 sheet of cardstock.

Thanks to: Leanne Hoagland-Smith of Advanced Systems

9.  Stand Out in a Crowd

If you’re a woman, seeking female customers, and you’re at a meeting, trade show, sale or elsewhere, get noticed by carrying a truly unique accessory like a red purse smothered in crystals, a standout scarf made from recycled sweaters, or very bold jewelry. This works amazingly well in attracting attention. It’s up to you to move the conversation from your accessory to your product or service.

Thanks to:  Lynn Colwell from Celebrate Green

10. Create Great Shareable Content

An easy and very cost effective marketing method we use at my company, Pig of the Month BBQ is to create 3-5 downloadable pdf files around free information (in our case, recipe guides, wine and beer pairings, and grilling tutorials) that are simple and created in Google docs and then shared from our website. We then contact the top 100 or so bloggers in a related field and ask them to share it with their readers as well. The bloggers get nicely done and interesting content to share and as people are reading though they see our logo, website, and a link or 2 thrown in so they can follow it back to learn more or see more recipes on our site.

This could be applied to several different business models as well and is dirt cheap. For example, a dentist might create an easy one page downloadable printout showing how long and the best way to brush kids’ teeth every day. It could be hung in bathrooms and then seen by prospective customers daily to create awareness.

Thanks to: Lea Richards of Pig of the Month

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free e-book called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney the Founder of 23 Kazoos, a Marketing and Public Relations firm in Phoenix, Arizona, that is relentless about results.  She is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

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Mary Lou broke out from the corporate world in 1999 to grow her own women’s marketing business called Just Ask a Woman.  Through her agency, Mary Lou has helped a large number of major brands (Pepsi, alli, Wal Mart) understand women as consumers.  As I have written before, the number of women responsible for making and recommending purchasing decisions is staggering.  Therefore, marketing to women becomes increasingly more critical.

What I learned from Mary Lou is that women admit half-truths, but marketers really need to get at the whole-truths on how women think before buying to effectively engage.  An example of this is when asking women about their looks and beauty (imperative in selling anything beauty related - clothing, lotions, makeup, vitamins), women will often spout a half-truth answer like ‘It is what is inside that counts.’  The whole-truth is really closer to ‘I would rather look better.’

The gap between the half-truths and whole-truths is important because it illustrates when marketing to women, companies need to be aware that they are dealing with 2 personalities in every woman.  There is the woman you are actually physically looking at and there is the woman who she wants to think of herself as being.  When I reflect on my own purchases and consumer mentality, I see this phenomenon loud and clear.

My bathroom counter of products spouting age defying technology, drawers of Spanx, and stacks of books on eating healthier are all examples of the woman that I think I am, or striving to be while I usually talk about ageless beauty.  HA!

While I was immediately drawn to Mary Lou because she is a role model for all women entrepreneurs as she left behind the comfort of corporate America to go her own way, her actual work is fascinating.  Women hold over 90% of the purchasing power when it comes to food related items alone.  This is a powerful stat when thinking about the need to engage effectively with women.  Don’t you think?

As startup business people, fresh on the scene, and seasoned entrepreneurs in a world of products and services, obviously we have to understand the female consumer.  We cannot accept the answer on the surface, but rather dig deeper when questioning women.

I am going to start by reading Mary Lou’s book, What She’s Not Telling You.

Rachel

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•    Difficulty turning on the computer to start writing.

•    Endlessly staring at a blank page waiting for inspiration to hit you.

•    The need to step away from the computer to get a drink, snack, go to the bathroom, etc.

Do any of these sound familiar?

If so, you may be plain sick of writing SEO copy and ready for a break. When you just don’t feel like writing, it will show in your content… so if you are feeling burn out, here are…

5 Quick Tips to Recharge your Mind, Body and SEO Writing Spirit!

1.    Go outside.

Take a walk, run a quick errand or just walk outside of your office for a few minutes. By taking some deep breaths of fresh air in a new environment, you can clear your head and get inspired by nature.

2. Have a healthy snack or drink.

While you don’t want to spend too much time away from your office, you may need a boost of energy to get your body going. Opt for a healthy piece of fruit, energy bar or juice drink. And it never hurts to stay hydrated with lots of water. If you drink a caffeinated beverage, know that this will wear off fast, and you may feel worse than before you drank it!

3. Read resources.

If you are feeling uninspired, look through some business books by good authors. Check online articles and read current, news stories. Look at niche publications for your industry. You may find something that sparks your interest and gets your writing juices flowing.

4. Talk to your target market.

Still stuck? It’s time to get in touch with your audience. If you can, talk to someone who matches the demographic you are writing for. Find out what they are interested in right now.

Read through testimonials at your office and talk to your sales representatives about their current customers. This way, you’ll get insider details on what your readers are thinking about write now. Then, you can write about topics they are specifically interested in hearing about.

5. Take time off.

If nothing seems to be working, and you just don’t want to write anything, take some time off to recharge. Either go on a vacation and get a change of scenery, or stay at home and watch some mindless television or participate in your favorite hobby or sport.

Listen to your body. If you are tired, bored and sick of writing, you probably just need a break. Unwind and relax. Then, when you get back to work, you’ll have a fresh perspective and be ready to write again.

The Need for Content is Never Ending.

As small business owners who write SEO copy, we know that content is king, and good copy can help increase online awareness, sales and credibility. And with Web pages, blogs, social media entries, articles, press releases, case studies, and more, the need for copy is never-ending.

It can be exhausting to keep up with all of the writing, especially if you are doing it all on your own. When you start to feel overwhelmed and burned out, take a break! Do what you need to do to relax and get inspired to write once again. Then, you’ll be able to provide valuable content that provides the results you want to see.

Need SEO copywriting help? Please post your questions below or write to me at www.rembrandtwrites.com.

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