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

Small Business Public Relations – What Is It?
When many entrepreneurs think of public relations (PR), they
think about sending out a press release.
But PR is so much more…
It entails all of the communications you have with the media,
customers, employees, partners, etc.
Why Do You Need It?
By communicating with your customers and the media, you
can share your message, [...]

You smell the freshly cut grass and the tangy barbeque sizzling on the grill. You sip a nice, cool beverage by the pool and start to fall asleep.
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Ah…summer. It’s time for rest, relaxation and fun. But wait a minute…Wake up!
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It’s also a time to be aware of your business. Why?
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Well, while you’re napping, [...]

Today, we have the pleasure of talking to Mark Wozniak, the VP of Products at InfoDome (yes, and the brother of Apple Co-Founder, Steve Wozniak). InfoDome is a new, online, critical business data management solution that launched in March to help small businesses handle data.
Tell us about InfoDome and why you created it.
InfoDome is a [...]

If you want to get some new business, here are three quick tips that may help you boost your customer-list fast…
1. Make A List. Check It Twice.
Look through all of your contacts and review the people you’ve met in your industry or at various conferences, local business meetings, presentations, etc. Then, make a list.
Research each of these [...]

A recent survey conducted by StartupNation’s friends at Wakefield Research for Brother® International, http://bit.ly/cIsNF5, indicated that small business owners “believe that stockpiling their cash now is the best strategy for survival.”
The survey also revealed ways that small business owners plan to make their businesses more efficient this year. To find out more, I interviewed Bruce [...]

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Last week, we looked at the first step to getting some free publicity to help your business boost sales. Now, here’s the second step in our “7 Steps to Successful Public Relations.”
“Who Ya Gonna Call?”

Once you have a PR Plan in place, it’s time to get smart with a good dose of research. In [...]

It’s 8:30 a.m. and you’ve spent the morning crafting the perfect e-mail to announce your brand new clothing line for dogs.  You click “send” and wait for a response from the business editor at “The Wall Street Journal.”
Now, it’s noon and still no response from the editor. You call and get voice mail so you [...]

Ok. So it’s 5:00 a.m., and I walk to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee with my eyes half open.
Ugh! I forgot to put coffee into the machine last night, and there is just a pot of hot water waiting for me. Oh well. I’ll make a fresh batch and use the [...]

The phone is not ringing and crickets are chirping.
That’s likely what will happen if you are sending out press releases to the masses and waiting for the sales to come in.
I bring this up because several entrepreneurs contacted me recently about their PR activities. They hired publicists. But instead of obtaining media exposure, they [...]

If you are working with a tight budget like most entrepreneurs, you can do your own publicity. Here is a quick list of some of the free services available to help you build buzz and sales:
1. Learn simple steps to start your publicity efforts with StartupNation’s Guide to PR here.
2. Check out the free, PR Newswire/StartupNation [...]