Photo courtesy of ShoestringVenture.com

For small businesses interested in some free publicity, Steve Monas of ShoestringVenture.com:  The Startup Bible Blog is looking for startup businesses that were started on a shoestring budget and that have a website. You can submit your interest with a brief synopsis to query-1bwf@helpareporter.com. Submissions must be received by 7:00 PM EST on July 20th, 2011. If your story is chosen, you may also get published in a future book as a case study.

You can see examples of the kind of stories they’ve published before here. Please don’t contact him if your story has already been published before on his site. ShoestringVenture.com gets 2,000 visitors per day so it’s worthwhile to give it a try.

Image by jronaldlee

Do you find yourself saying any of the following statements?

“I want to sell to everybody.”

“Everybody can benefit from my product/service.”

“I want to cast a wide net – everyone should know about us.”

If so, I want to give you a high five for your enthusiasm – but I also want you to read the rest of this article so you understand why your marketing consultant looks really uncomfortable when you say any of the above.

The world would be a wonderful place if everyone was the perfect candidate for your product or service. But the truth of the matter is, we’re all different. We all have different wants, needs, tolerances, and preferences. We’re all drawn to different things and we’re all trying to solve different problems. Which is why when you try to sell to everyone, you end up wasting a lot of time, energy, and money on people that are never going to spend money on you.

Continue Reading »

Most business owners know about word of mouth marketing. “How do I get people to talk about my product/brand/company?” is a common question we hear. Today we’ll look at five ways you can start and see some instant results in your marketing efforts.

1) Ask Your Customers the Hard Questions

These aren’t difficult questions, but sometimes the answers might be tough to hear.

Continue Reading »

Kenneth Cole, international shoe brand and fashion trend-setter, decided to comment on the horrific situation in Egypt this morning. In past blog posts, we’ve explored how your small business can leverage timely events to boost marketing efforts, but we didn’t mean like this:

Guest post - Andrea Baxter is a senior marketing professional and a co-founder of Smart Cookies, founded in early 2007. Educating women on how to be smart with their money while living fabulously, the Smart Cookies have appeared on CNN, Oprah, MSNBC, and ABC News. They have published two best-selling books and host their own TV show.

–

As a businesswoman, more importantly, an entrepreneur, I have come to learn that there are 3 very important people you must surround yourself with in order to help your business grow and make it successful: trendsetters, influencers and connectors. Why? Because these are the people who are going to believe in you, believe in what you are doing and will want to help you grow your business as ferociously as you do.

Continue Reading »

Do you wake up every morning and check your inbox to see what the latest online deals are? If so, you’re like me – and I’m starting to think I have a problem.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, then you haven’t yet been exposed to the wonder of the Group Discount Site, such as Groupon, TeamBuy, and LivingSocial just to name a few.

These websites work by offering a city-specific, limited-time deal (typically one a day) which must be purchased by a minimum number of people to make it happen. The deals are delivered by email each day and usually offer more than 50% off a product or service, so they almost always sell enough to push the deal through.

What does this mean for your small business? To put it bluntly – a HUGE influx of customers.

Consider this – your business offer gets delivered directly to the inboxes of thousands of people who are looking for great deals. Not only that, but these deal sites encourage their subscribers to refer their friends and reward them for referrals that purchase deals. You get to capitalize on the social nature of the site to expand your reach even further.

The diversity of the types of businesses using this type of promotion is impressive. Through these sites, I’ve bought everything from diving lessons, to house cleaning, to wine making to dining out.

Bottom line – if you’re looking to grab new customers, a group discount site might be a great option for you. Just make sure that you decide how much business you can handle and set a limit on the number of deals you’ll put up for grabs. Some of these businesses are now backed up for months!

Have you promoted your business on a group discount site? Or, have you signed up for one? What kind of deals appeal to you?

Recently I read that 34 billion videos were streamed in the U.S. in May. I’m not big on stats, but some quick grade school math indicated that it’s equal to every single person on the planet watching more than five videos! More than 14.6 billion of those videos were watched on YouTube, with each user watching an average of 101.2 videos in one month.

With YouTube being the second-most used search engine after Google, video is no longer a marketing luxury for businesses.

So how do you incorporate videos to work for your online business?

1. Testimonials

There is nothing more assuring than a real, objective person telling you how and why a product worked for them. Reach out to the customers that already love you and ask if they could put together a 30 second video testimonial if they find value in your product - and put that on your home page.

2. Education

You can find how-to videos these days on anything from online marketing to how to make a calzone. The plain fact is that people thirst for knowledge, and the best way to transmit that (aside from having a one-on-one instructor) is through a simple tutorial video. If you’re not comfortable in front of the camera, you may want to create a computer tutorial instead, using screen-capture video software. Some programs even have the ability to add captions.

3. Product Demos

This cheesy video demo for a remote car starter might not be your style (or budget), but it works. There’s a reason it has over 212,000 views! These are all people who were exposed to Viper’s branding, and they are all assured that the product isn’t a lemon. Sometimes a money-back guarantee isn’t enough - people want to actually see your product or service in action.

4. Entertainment

Sometimes you just want to show that your company has a human side - that you have a sense of humor. Recently on our staff retreat, our team ended up playing one of most challenging sports known to man: tether-ball. The sight of grown men (yes that’s me in the yellow) reduced to swinging away incompetently at an elusive ball is the kind of thing I can spare a minute to watch - and forward to a friend as well.

These are just a few ways you can start using videos for your business. If you haven’t already begun, get out there and start shooting! And, if you’ve already started using video for your business, let us know in the comments how that’s working for you!

Let’s face it, not everyone can love you. I am one of those personality types that tries to please everyone, so it usually bothers me if someone has a bone to pick with me or my ideas. However, I’ve gradually learned that detractors can be as valuable as fans.

If you are doing something truly great, unique, or exciting in your small business – there are bound to be people who will have a problem with it. When someone takes a shot at you or your brand in a public/online space, you quickly learn who your evangelists are as they jump to your defense.

Consider this: whether they love you or hate you, they’re talking about you. So why play it safe and shoot for the middle?

There’s nothing that convinces the undecided like passionate supporters, and these fans are key to spreading your message.

I recently heard a story about the owner of a small pizza parlor long ago. This owner, let’s call him Hank, had a very small budget compared with the large Pizza Huts and Dominos of his neighbourhood.

This happened years ago, when businesses still advertised in phone books. The big chains, of course, could afford huge, full page ads which Hank could not compete with. He decided instead to run a small promotion of his own: for every competitors’ ad that customers ripped out of the phone book and brought to his store, Hank would give away an order of wings.

The customers came swarming, and Hank quickly saw that the cost of the wing giveaway was more than absorbed by the increased spike in business. His competitors understandably hated what he was doing: complaining, cajoling and even leaving him threats. However, his customers understood a great offer when they saw one, spread the word, and Hank’s business boomed because of his somewhat controversial move.

So the takeaway is this: don’t be afraid to polarize people. Ask yourself how you can stick your thumb in your competitors’ eye. Chances are, it will make your customers love you even more.

What moves could you make in your business that might tick off a few competitors?

For more, one of Apple’s original marketers, Guy Kawasaki wrote an excellent post on innovation.

This week, Brian Chesky, the founder of Airbnb, is giving up his home to prove a point about his small business: the product works.

Airbnb is a website that helps homeowners rent out space in their homes to make extra cash. Until the end of the year, Chesky will use his company’s service to find accommodation in San Francisco, where his company is based.

While undoubtedly a great PR idea, Chesky’s move also makes a very strong statement about the effectiveness of his business. If the CEO of the company is willing to stake the roof over his head, it must work.

Now, I’m not saying that you need to become homeless or do anything quite so drastic, but consider whether there might be some way that you could make a bold statement about your product or service through your own actions.

Do you have a creative way to stand behind your product/service? Tell us how!

In an age where everyone is writing or blogging about something, it’s a challenge to allocate your reading time and attention.

At CityMax.com, we have a well-stocked library with business gems such as The Rockefeller Habits and Blue Ocean Strategy - yet I often find the need to balance it out with some  Kurt Vonnegut or other fiction.

Marketing and social media expert Chris Brogan talks about how to make different types of reading material work for your small business, rather than living solely in “your world” of literature. He makes some good points and may give you a new perspective on your reading habits.

What are some of your fave business books? Or better yet, what are some of the most unusual books you’ve been able to apply to your business?