Archive for the ‘Websites’ Category

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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

AwardSync Will Help You Get The Attention You Deserve

As we all know, PR and marketing plays an essential role in the growth of your business.  One thing that surely brings attention is a special honor for your company. Awardsync is an online resource that lists awards programs.  Whether you are posting and promoting awards programs, or looking for award programs for your company, registering is free.

As you market your company, it definitely helps if you have something that sets you apart in your field.  An award as one of the top new eco-friendly companies, for example, adds to your company’s positive reputation and builds your customers’ confidence is what you have to offer.

Make sure you only submit for award programs that are appropriate for your company. This will enhance your chance of winning.  Also, make sure the award program reflects the values of your company. Winning just to win is not the point.  The potential award should strengthen your brand identity. You can read more at AwardSync.com

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Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Use Pitch For PR To Get Your Story Out There

Pitch For PR ™ is a site that helps to get your pitch in front of reporters, bloggers and website managers. It is completely opposite of HARO (a service I love), because you submit your pitch to Pitch For PR and they send emails of the pitches to the reporters, instead of sending reporters’ requests to you.

Pitch For PR

Here’s how it works:

1 Submit your pitch (max 350 characters) using Pitch For PR’s form.

2 Submit a least one story topic, and no more than three, along with your pitch. Make sure these topics relate to your pitch and will showcase you as an expert.

3 Pitch For PR ™ emails 10-15 new pitches each weekday to their subscribers - legitimate media and website outlets.

4 You will be contacted by anyone who is interested in your story.

It is costs nothing to submit your pitch and it’s free to subscribe to their emails. If you are looking for content, sign up for their emails. And if you want some PR (who doesn’t?) polish up your pitch and send it in. Pitch For PR

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Posted in PR/Marketing, Websites | 2 Comments »

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

Get Some Attention With Yak About It and Daily Grommet

No matter how fantastic your product is, getting noticed is frequently an uphill climb.  Here are two free sites that can help put a spotlight your product.    

grommet

The first is Daily Grommet.  The people at Daily Grommet are looking for products that have great utility, style, or invention, from companies that are passionate about what they’re doing.  If this is you, and you have yet to be discovered, get ready to tell your story, because they love a good story.  FYI… you may not submit your own product, but I’m sure you have many loyal customers that love your product enough to help you out.  Read more about them here: Daily Grommet

MOST.YAKABLE

The second site is Yak About It.  They spotlight products that are creations of inventors and independent entrepreneurs.  Products from larger companies are never carried on the site.  Yak About It provides a central online location that showcases exciting new products, giving a leg up to those companies that aren’t yet established in the marketplace.  Customers can purchase from the site, and leave comments, thus increasing the product’s recognition.

Yak About It also has a competition.  Every week two featured products compete for the title of Most Yakable.  The winner is featured for an extra day and the Most Yakable trophy remains on the product image.  This makes a huge difference if people search by “most yakable”.  If you are interested, and have product in stock, check out Yak About It.  And yes, you can submit your own product. Check them out here: Yak About It

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Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Zuplo Can Enhance Your Email

Zuplo is a site that allows you to customize your email with graphic images. You can choose from over 7000 email stationery designs or you can create new designs, using your own photos or graphic images. The Zuplo site steps you through the photo upload process.

Envelope
 

Incorporating the image into your email is pretty easy. You just copy the stationery (image) from the Zuplo site and paste into your email. There is also a tutorial, which I suggest watching.

Zuplo works with most email programs, but unfortunately there is only a PC version at the moment. Also, you must be using Internet Explorer or Firefox as your browser. In addition to the free version, they also offer an upgraded version for $8.95/year.

The free version of the Zuplo software gives you access to your top five saved favorites. The premium version gives you access to an unlimited number of saved favorites. Log on and look around.

I think customizing your email with your company logo or product image is a nice idea, but keep in mind that it should not be distracting or intrusive in any way. Of course, you can also use this for personal emails, and they can be as obnoxious as you want them to be.  Zuplo.com

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Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Marketing With Knowledge Genie

I came across this great site, MyKnowledgeGenie.com It is a site that allows you to “package” things you know in a way that guides the viewer through specific steps. You can use your Genie in whatever way best serves your needs. You can educate employees, market new products, reinforce employee training, catalog documents or provide customers with the information they need. You can also use Knowledge Genie to make some money from what you know.

Aladin lamp

The instructions for building your Genie are very clear. There is also a tutorial, which I highly recommend watching. As with so many service sites these days, there is a free plan, or you can upgrade to a paid plan. Start with the free plan. As you see how it works you may come up with your own ideas of how to put Knowledge Genie to work for you.

The free plan has no monthly fee and is capable of creating one Genie, but you can not incorporate the Google or PayPal options on the profile page (you can’t get paid for your one Knowledge Genie). But you can use it for any other purpose. It’s a good way to see if it’s something that has marketing or earning potential for you.

The Starter Plan is $24/month, you can create two Genies and you can add Google or PayPal account buttons to your profile page to collect payments. There are additional plans that allow for the creation of more Genies, but you get the idea.

Even if you don’t think this would be of use to you, check it out. I believe it could be a very effective marketing tool. If you do end up creating a Knowledge Genie, let me know so I can tell everyone about it. Knowledge Genie

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Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Peer-To-Peer Loans With Lending Club And Prosper Loans

Staying with the theme of money, another alternative for small businesses is peer-to-peer loans. Two such companies are the Lending Club and Prosper.

Dollar

Lending Club is a social lending network that connects investors and borrowers. The loans are provided at rates that are usually better than regular banks, and loans can be for as little as $1,000. The club only approves US credit worthy borrowers, which they define as people with a FICO score of at least 660 with a debt-to-income ratio (excluding mortgage) below 25%.

If you are approved for a loan, it will be for a fixed rate with a life of 3 years. You will post your loan request online and lenders will agree to fund your loan in varying amounts. It may take up to 2 weeks to get fully funded.

Prosper Loans is another peer-to-peer lending company. It is similar to Lending Club in their approval process and their loans have a life of 3 years and are repaid at a fixed rate.

When you post your loan request with Prosper, you also choose the maximum interest rate you're willing to pay. Your listing displays a summary of your credit history, and a personal note to the lenders telling them about yourself, your business, and how you plan to use the loan. Lenders read all of this and then bid on your listing. Subsequently, your interest rate could be driven down by the auction bidding.

This service (for both companies) is unavailable in some states, so check their FAQ pages. I really love what these companies are doing.  Obtaining a loan has become difficult, but there are alternatives out there.

Peer to peer lending is another facet of the emerging social lending movement. It will be interesting to see how this trend evolves. I will share information on any new opportunities as they are created.

Lending Club

Prosper

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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Manage Loans From Family With Virgin Money

Money, money, money. It is a huge concern for everyone these days, and small and micro businesses are no different. I recently posted a video saying you don’t need a lot of money to start a business, and I firmly believe that. But you may be at a point where a micro loan will allow you to take your business to the next level.

I recently wrote about micro loans that are backed by the SBA (read about it here). This is a great option, but it is not the only alternative. Richard Branson has established Virgin Money to handle your personal loans. 

Virgin

If you have a friend, family member or even an acquaintance that is interested in investing in your startup, you don’t have to do it with just a handshake and a do-it-yourself contract. To keep these money situations from getting kind of sticky, you can contact Virgin Money and have them manage your loan agreement. 

Virgin Money is a pioneer in the emerging social finance sector. They've helped thousands of people manage over $370 million in loans with relatives and friends. You and your private lender determine the terms of the loan and Virgin Money will take care of the loan documents, electronic fund transfer, emailed statements, and year-end reporting. Read more here Virgin Money.

Handling your business loan this way will show that you are serious about repayment, and it will help protect the personal relationship. Cruise around the site and check out their loan options for school and mortgages. This is such a cool idea. Let me know if you decide to take advantage of their services.

Posted in Money, Websites | No Comments »

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Give Your DIY PR Efforts A Boost With The Pitchy Chicks

Although I believe there is a DIY yourself option for everything, there are some things that are best handled by professionals. I think you should farm out the things you can’t stand doing and/or the things you’re really bad at. For instance, I don’t do anything “techie”. If I dedicated enough time and energy, I could figure it out, but I would be hating life. And I don’t believe in torturing myself (or those around me).

Another thing I don’t like doing is writing about myself. I can write about things I like, other people, and upcoming events until the cows come home. But I get writer’s block when it comes to writing about me and what I’m doing. This is why I’ll be contacting the Pitchy Chicks when I need a media pitch.

Chick

Their specialty is writing the perfect email pitch for you and your product, a pitch that will help you get the media attention you want. They have decades of PR experience between them and they will use that to your advantage, for a very affordable price. Here are a few things they offer:

Basic Pitch Edit ($200):
Email your pitch to them and they will send it back within a week, reworked to give your business the best chance for maximum media exposure.

In-Depth Pitch Edit (varies):
If your pitch requires a major reworking, they will let you know immediately, and work with you to come up with an affordable attack plan.

Social Media Tips ($400):
If you want guidance with your blog, tips to receive online reviews, offer giveaways, etc… Basically anything to do with online marketing.

You can waste a lot of time and money trying to get the attention your business needs, just to end up lost in a pile of other pitches. If you can afford it, spend a little up front to avoid some of the frustration. It’s a great semi-DIY option that I think you should check out. The Pitchy Chicks

Posted in PR/Marketing, Websites | 2 Comments »

Friday, August 28th, 2009

A Bunch Of Online Selling Options

Everyday I come across more online selling options. I thought it would be helpful to list these sites in one post. I have links to previous posts if I’ve already written about the site.

Shopping

Shabby Cottage Shops is offering a great deal if you participate in their online mall – 2 free months! You can read about the deal here: Shabby Cottage Special and here’s their previous write-up.

Renegade Handmade online store. Here’s their previous write-up.

Etsy.com – Here’s their previous write-up. Setting up an Etsy shop is free. It costs 20 cents to list an item and 3.5% of the price when it sells.

1000Markets.com is similar to Etsy, but the vibe is different. There are no fees to list a product. When you make a sale, 1000 Markets deducts 5.5% of the order total (inclusive of any shipping fees you may charge) plus an additional $0.50. It’s a little higher than Etsy, but if an item doesn’t sell, you haven’t paid anything up front. Check them out.

Artfire.com is kind of like the other two, but they have a completely free shop option. You are limited to listing a maximum of 12 items at a time, but that’s not a big drawback for most people. You can upgrade to a flat fee $12/month option. This has a lot of features, including a link to your Etsy shop (if you have one) and Google analytics. Definitely look into this. I like anything with a free option. Taking a test drive is always a good idea. 

FuzzB.com is like the others, but there fee structure is different. You can open a VIP Shop for $5 A Month (the price will never go up). They also offer a Gateway option that allows you to import from all of your other selling sites (Etsy, Ebay, Artfire, your own website). This is $7 a month (the price will never go up). Or you can get a store/gateway combo for $10/month. These prices are limited to the first 5,000 clients. They have some other options, including a free trial store that allows you to sell 10 items. If it works out for you, you can sign up for one of the for-fee options.

If you sign up for any of these, you can gain further exposure by listing your shop(s) on Café Handmade (see previous post). This should give you some ideas of where to get started, so get started.

Posted in Selling, Websites | 2 Comments »

Monday, August 24th, 2009

What Can Wufoo Do For You?

Wufoo is an Internet application that helps you to build online forms. I can’t even remember how I came upon this site, but when I did, I knew immediately it was pretty cool.

Wu-tang-clan-04

Wufoo allows you to design a form and put it on your website. As people fill out the form(s), the data is collected and stored for your use. All you need is a browser and an Internet connection and you can start using it immediately. They have a lot of templates and themed designs, or you can build a custom form. I logged on and it’s pretty simple to use. And for the record, if I think it’s simple, it’s really simple.

Here are just a few examples of form types - Contact Form, Mailing List, Survey, Job Application, Workshop Registration, Event Calendar, Customer Management, Invitations / RSVP, Online Orders, Address Book, Personal Journal, and Media Collection. The possibilities are endless, but the ones listed will get you thinking about what you may need.

Once you create your forms you can place them on your website. When you’re ready, you can take a look at the data you’ve collected by creating reports. Or if you prefer, you can have the entries emailed to you, or you can subscribe to an RSS feed and export them as an Excel document.

Foo fighters

Like I always suggest, start with their free service and if you like what they do and it helps you out, you can upgrade. They have for-fee plans from $9.95 – $199.95. And if you’re wondering what’s with the name, they tell you that on their FAQ page.  Check them out here Wufoo.com

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