Small Business or Not, Do You Know The Rules?

January 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment

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Starting a business is more then just buying a cheap domain, putting up your site and saying “Hey, Buy From Me!”.

The Federal Trade Commission is the primary federal agency that regulates e-commerce activities including commericial email, online advertising and consumer privacy.

They offer a few select resources including e-commerce, marketing, starting a business and internet tools and several tech tools.

I personally found the obstacle of SPAM sticky when I started my newsletter. You don’t want to let those customers slip away, but you don’t want to break the rules either.

The following is an article on SPAM.

Taking a Bite out of Spam; Unsolicited email an obstacle to business

Billions of e-mails offering the skinny on get rich quick schemes, Viagra prescriptions, and pornography infiltrate people’s inboxes every day. Spam costs billions each year in time and resources and threatens to undermine the convenience and security offered by e-commerce.

“The proliferation of bulk, unsolicited commercial e-mail has become more than a nuisance,” said Joe Rubin, the U.S. Chamber’s executive director for technology and e-commerce during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in July. “Increasingly, consumers are getting bombarded with pornographic and misleading e-mail that overshadows the online communication efforts of legitimate companies.”

Spam adversely affects both consumers and businesses. Consumers may be less likely to buy goods online if they think that including their e-mail addresses will lead to a storm of unwanted commercial e-mail. Further, they often delete bulk e-mail from their inboxes indiscriminately, unable to differentiate between spam and e-mail from legitimate companies. Businesses that communicate with their customers via e-mail risk being mistaken as spammers and then being hit with legal action. They also endure productivity losses when spam contains dangerous viruses that corrupt computer systems. And who can forget all the time it takes to download and delete unwanted messages?

To help address the growing spam epidemic, the Chamber supports the Reduction in Distribution Spam Act of 2003. Not only would the act empower Internet service providers to go after spammers, it would also create greater cooperation between business and government, strengthen the Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement abilities, and create a single, uniform code for e-mail communicators. Such legislation, which is currently awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives, would decrease the harmful impact of spam without stifling the ability of companies to reach their customers, both current and potential.

Source: US Chamber of Commerce

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Small Business Blogging, Work at Home MOM

Do you Squidoo??

January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Alright, I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to Squidoo. Why?

It’s fast- talk about not needing to worry about the logistics of a web site. Poof! It’s done for you. While each page is referred to as a “lens” it really is basically one web page on a huge site. You can create a whole web page in minutes once you get the system down.

It’s FREE- Yup, it’s 100% Free- they don’t even ask you for a credit card to hold your site

You make Money- don’t quit your day job unless you have a couple hundred sites going but it does make money with affiliate programs from Amazon and Ebay

No technical experience needed- Just click and drag or type- easy as pie!

Practice, Practice, Practice- for those individuals that still have a hard time getting their “niche” down- this is a great free practice platform. Go Ahead, Toot Your Own Horn and see what you can provide your niche customer on one page. Check out the link below and see how narrow the focus of each page is.

Squidoo Directory

Check out my Squidoo Page- rate it, feedback it, link to it, start your own!
Tubby Bundle on Squidoo

The final reason, it’s just fun to say “Squidoo” isn’t it?

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

Social Media and what it means to business

January 30, 2008 | 4 Comments

The words, Facebook, Linkedin, MySpace, Twitter, Stumble… they are everywhere on the internet and for some it may sound like another language.

However, unlike the language classes in school you had to struggle with and can’t remember now, social media is one language you should take some time to learn. As indicated in the article below your sole focus should not be for the only purpose of hanging you sign out to get business but for the networking component.

Network with your fellow Chamber of Commerce members and you reached a 20 mile radius, Network online and you reach around the world.

Creating your social media strategy
Look beyond traffic and links and you will find the real value.

Social media, and by that I’m lumping together blogs, RSS, social networking and social book marking sites, presents the marketer with a rich set of new tools to help in the effort to generate new business.

But, if that’s the only way you view social media, as a set of tools to perform a set of tactics to reach the set of objectives you have always tried to reach with your marketing, then not only are you really missing the opportunity, you will probably find yourself wondering what all the fuss is about.

You can’t approach new media with old thinking. Taking full advantage of social media requires understanding and adopting a specific social media strategy.

First and foremost you must appreciate the differences between social media and, say, direct mail. With direct mail the outcome is likely, to create an action. With most social media, it’s to create a connection. Both of these have equally important places in the long-term health of a business, but how they happen is significantly different.

Try to do one with the other and the results may actually backfire - ie: Ads on Facebook? There are definitely instances in which a social media play can align with an organization’s industry focus and become natural facilitators of lead acquisition.

I think the best way to look at social media, though, is to view it as a way to open up access points. These points can then be leveraged to create content, connection, and community. Do that well, and they can also add to lead generation, nurturing and conversion. Think of your web site as the ultimate destination or bucket to catch what comes through your social media access points.

Blogging - If content is one of the golden measures, blogs are a given. This one has become so mainstream it’s hard to think of in the same light as say Facebook. Blogging enhances all forms of content creation, drives search traffic and enables the start of connection and community in the form of comments and conversation. Employing this tool effectively feels a bit like social media 101 - a required course of action before advancing.

In Action: A blog connected to or functioning as your website, a blog network for your customers, a blog network for your strategic partners, an idea blog for your industry.

Tools - Typepad, Wordpress, Wordpress MU, MovableType, Drupal, Square Space, Twitter

RSS - Perhaps best known as a subset of blogging, RSS is what drives the spreading, filtering and aggregating of ideas and content. RSS technology has the ability to make content more useful.

In Action: Simply researching through news, republishing news and search results, reformatting information - data and calendars, creating custom news feeds, mashing lots of feeds into one.

Tools - bloglines.com, Google Reader, GoogleNews, YahooNews, aideRSS, mySyndicaat, Feedburner

Social Bookmarking and News - Social news and book mark sites live to promote ideas and reward the creators of those ideas for creativity and consistency. The best social news plays consist of targeted campaigns focused at a specific site or audience.

Getting on page one of Digg or del.icio.us or creating this week’s viral hit on You Tube can send your site’s traffic through the roof, but there a couple things to consider.

These are communities that reward participation and hard work (that’s not to say people haven’t figured out ways to beat the system, but go in realize that methodical work is ahead.)

Choose a community with the proper focus. Digg is technology heavy, Small Business Brief is for small business

Tools: Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, YouTube, Google Video, Mixx, Small Business Brief

Best Practices: Build deep once, Study and read, Find and pitch influencers, Make it easy for you and your readers, Build networks, Promote your chosen site.

Social Networking - The recent rise in popularity of sites like MySpace and Facebook clearly points to the desire for community. As marketers rush to these sites it becomes clear that virtual “no soliciting” signs are hung out.

Networks are networks and while the meeting place may be new, the rules (manners) are the same. If you goal is to establish yourself as an influencer of an existing network, you must be prepared to earn the right, mostly by giving, helping, guiding and building relationships without overt efforts to cash in.

The long term can be very fruitful, with patience you can make connections, improve your visibility and increase sales.

Tools: ecademy, Facebook, mySpace, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Jigsaw, Ryze

Best Practices: Participate actively, Pitch influencers, Make it easy for yourself and your network, Find connections

Building Your Own Social Network - The next wave in community building is the personalized, niche, hand-build community. There are some emerging tools that make this idea much more doable, but creating your own community is a serious investment in terms of time and resources. Done well it can be the ultimate in terms of building a brand.

Tools: Drupal, Ning, KickApps, OneSite

Related article - Content is a strategy
. ~ ~ ~

John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide published by Thomas Nelson.

He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting www.ducttapemarketing.com

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

Useless Trivia Facts and Random Musings of the Day

January 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment

While out surfing the net researching for a few new articles, I was distracted. Let me ask you, how can you surf the net without getting distracted? You click on this, click on the that and before you know it, you can’t remember where you came from and the windows open different so you can’t even go “Back”.

I do have to say on the subject of surfing the internet that I am happy at how Google has done a better job at making searches focused on what you are actually searching for and have put a serious dent in the number of adult and XXX rated websites that pop up. While it’s impossible to get 100% clean results I don’t find myself bombarded and sifting thru these type of websites. A few years ago I was putting on a large kids event and typed in the words “candy necklace” to find different kinds of candy that kids can string together for an activity and WOWOWOW… I never knew the word candy could lead to these sort of things. The worst part was I was at my Corporate Job on my work computer (Yes, it was a work related party and part of my job). Every time my phone rang I was afraid it was the IT department calling to tell me to report to Human Resources.

Next time you need a couple useless trivia facts to get the cocktail conversation going:

Desserts are ordered more often if diners had wine with their meal.
Thursday is the peak weekday for consuming alcoholic beverages.
Wine is consumed throughout the week, cocktails rely most on the weekends.

source: the NPD Group

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

The World of Blogging

January 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I had a conversation with my sister yesterday and in her normal way, she had critical opinions on the fact that I “blog about me” and “who wants to hear about your kids”. I still can’t help but chuckle at the conversation because I know she doesn’t get it, nor do I care if she gets it. But I asked myself why do I blog?

It is an outlet for me- I do like writing and I’ve spent years trying to write in the kids journals or about what happens in the craziness of life so I’ll remember and well, blogging so far is the only method that lets me record the little things in my life that I appreciate and find funny, sad or mad so I can look back and say oh yeah…

Other moms enjoy reading and feeling that they are not alone and they are not the only one that is trying to pull polly pockets shirt on for a child while they just try to take a shower at one in the aftnoon. Basically- this is real life, not what you see on T.V. and what you “thought” parenthood was about.

It’s a link to my business- yes for those that don’t understand the internet or the technical pieces having fresh blog content that gets “pinged” everyday does make a difference.

Make money- See those GOOGLE adds on the side? Click one for me - it doesn’t cost you a penny but it puts a little bit of change in my bank account and pays all my website fees. Pay it forward- click a whole lot for me :)))) I don’t want to get Google slapped for click fraud, only click if your interested in the ad. wink wink

Affiliate links- sorry to shock you, but yes, I do embed affiliate links in some of my posts so when you buy a product I recommend or click thru another business cuts me a check. SHOCKER! Not really, I know affiliate marketing is a huge piece of “making money online”. However, I do have strong ethics and I will only promote or mention products that add value, I have used and trust or that I am really interested in. I won’t tell you to go buy something just so I get $2.00 in my checking account because then you will think I’m full of malarchy and won’t come back, then my traffic drops, yadda yadda so for the short run check the sidebar for the RESOURCE page and you will find a ton of resources in various areas and see what you can use!

And finally my last point, I don’t care what you think. If you don’t want to read about my “little life in a 10 mile radius where I stay home 12 hours a day with little kids” then don’t but for those that do enjoy having a cup of tea, having a laugh or picking up a little business advice that may save you time or money then go ahead and click below to get a FEED. Either way, I’m going to keep up blogging as my personal self expression but you won’t find me Pushing it on people in every conversation I have (matter of fact I rarely mention it offline), I won’t carry pictures of my blog site, I won’t have my husband or kids re-arrange their schedules to fit my blogging “schedule”.

And if I’m the only “self centered” one then so be it, because like I said, I don’t care what you think anyway.

New Baby,Blogging, and Motherhood
by: Jim DeSantis

Blogging with a new baby sounds a little nuts and is likely to be the last thing on your mind but it may just be the relief valve you need.

I put mothers on a very high pedestal. Even though I am a father and a grandfather, I really have no clue just how tough it is taking care of an infant. I know it’s an almost incredible amount of work, and between changing diapers and keeping the nursery squared away it seems unrealistic to imagine that there would be time left over for any mother to blog. However, a growing number of moms are joining the blogosphere to share their experiences during this exciting and challenging time of life. There are a whole range of benefits that mothers can gain from blogging, and the spectrum covers everything from getting through the night to helping distant relatives feel closer, not to mention maintaining your sanity.

What is a blog and why is blogging such a great idea? A blog is nothing more than a daily journal, diary, if you will, of your thoughts and experiences. You write about them, in your own words, and post them online in your blog. Your readers then can comment and start a communication link with you. Best of all, blogging is free.

I run multiple free blogs and can tell you that blogging is a tremendous way to relieve stress and interact with others. It focuses me away from my daily routine and stresses. See my Author Box below for the link to my blog on Family Life to get an idea of what I am talking about. That blog is free on Blogger.com. There are other sources for free blogs but that’s getting ahead of ourselves for this article.

For a mom dealing with the hassles and triumphs of a baby, blogging about your motherhood is a great way to blow off some steam or just to share some of the joys of motherhood. Your blogging may even help new mothers get through the trials and tribulations of their first infant.

If your baby often has very erratic sleep patterns that leave you up at odd hours of the night, blogging may just be the best way to fill those hours. Many moms turn to television to help them weather these dawn vigils but, by blogging through the night, moms can turn what feels like a somewhat depressing situation into an actively positive and productive one through blogging.

Another reason why moms often find blogging very satisfying is that it helps them to be a part of a community. For moms who are unable to successfully juggle a full social life with the very tough demands of taking care of a new baby, blogging can be a great way to stave off the isolation that sometimes comes during this stage of life.

A baby requires constant attention, and it can be difficult to attend social gatherings or events when you are responsible for an infant. Luckily, the internet is full of other moms in the same situation, and by chatting with them it is possible to overcome

some of the loneliness that many new mothers are surprised to encounter. If you are a new mother, you can learn from experienced mothers. If you are experienced, you can pass along your wisdom to the new mothers. In that process of exchange you all break the patterns of stress and isolation.

Of course, for a mom with an adorable new baby, blogging can be as much about celebration as it is about necessity. Having a blog about living with a new child can give mothers the chance to reflect on how powerful and warm the sensation of motherhood is, and sometimes sharing the triumphs of this unique time can make them even sweeter.

A blog is a great way to keep friends and family updated with news about your baby’s first words or first steps, and with new technology it is easier than ever to make photos and video clips a part of your blog, so you can give far-away relatives the chance to feel much more involved in your child’s life. Many email services now have the ability to email videos. You simply load the video onto your computer, attach it electronically, and your relatives get to see your baby is live action.

Blogging, at first, may seem a bit intimidating. Look for someone, a close relative who is computer savvy, to teach you the ins and outs or spend some time online in those wee hours surfing the internet for information about blogging. There is a ton a free tutorials online that will cut your learning curve and soon you can be a blogging whiz!

Jim DeSantis
Proud father and grandfather

About The Author

Jim DeSantis

For more free tips like this go to Jim’s Family Life blog at http://on-line-tribune-family-life.blogspot.com. For ebooks on this subject, visit Jim’s http://libraryfordummys.jdanswers.com eBooks website!

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life, Small Business Blogging

Small Business Marketing Questions of the Day

January 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment

A Small Business Marketing Strategy is an essential part of business to compete with the bigger corporations after the same customers. If done correctly, the small business can gain loyal customers from their initial marketing strategy. The statistics are clear that retaining your customer is more cost effective then trying to gain new ones. The questions of the day:

Do you ask your customers why they buy from you?
Ask a former customer why they left?
Provide over the top personal customer service?
Carry business cards with you everyday?
Ask your customers to come back again?
Return any phone calls quickly and utilize an email autoresponder?
Ask your clients what you can do to help them?

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Small Business Blogging, Work at Home MOM

Fused Plastic Bag Craft

January 25, 2008 | 1 Comment

Ohhh BOY, I can not wait to try this craft! I’m so excited about this wonderful way to reuse all the plastic bags under my kitchen sink (besides picking up dog poop) that I guess my biggest challenge will be just finding the time!

I think I’m pretty crafty but how do people discover these cool things? This is right up there with my bowl made out of a vinyl record… even though my husband is still mad that I used on of his “classics” (like he missed it out of that attic box until he saw my bowl!).

Check out this craft and I’ll post a picture as soon as I get something made! Maybe I’ll try the baby bib first! ETSY HERE for the text tutorial or click below to check out a video

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

How to add Social Bookmarks to Blog

January 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I added the social bookmarks today at the end of each post. Partly because I wanted to see how to do it, partly because I think it makes it easier for readers to do a quick add- hint, hint…. go ahead, Stumble Me, I know you want to ! wink wink

So you ask, HOW did I add this vast array of social bookmarks to my post? Well, let me tell you.

First. I had to Google “Add social bookmarks”- you have to learn somehow right? And since you’re here, and I’m telling you how to do it then I just saved you a step.

2. I’ll clarify that I use wordpress uploaded on my own host. So, if you use another blog method, sorry, back to the first step of Google. Too bad 4 u!

Three. I visited this site Apostolos Dountis web site for the plugin download.

4- I downloaded the Social Bookmark Tool to my computer.

5-I opened up my control panel, found the plugin folder and uploaded the zipped file

6-I unzipped the file and moved into the Social Bookmark folder (that I created) under the plugins folder

7- Enter into my blog dashboard - plugins- poof, there it is! I activated it then followed the directions to go to OPTIONs tab and customized what bookmarks I wanted to include. I never heard of some of those, and you can get really crazy with buttons but for now I added more then I most likely need but it’s a new “toy” to experiment with.

The whole process took under 10 minutes, was FREE and I’ll see if it adds any value. The only one that it didn’t have was Twitter. So I’ll keep checking around for a Twitter button since that is a topic I’m interested in. GOOD LUCK!

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

Consumer Letter You Can’t Miss

January 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Well, I got sucked into the various blogs in the wide wide world and I found this post… I’m speechless.

Maybe because my husband gives me a hard time when I sent “a letter” to a company, like the one I sent to the generic kids “washable” paint that I bought and it didn’t come out of any of the kids clothes and it completely ruined their clothes… yeah.. never heard back from that one…. But I did get three boxes of those little 100 calorie bags of snacks the other day and three bags out of the six were EMPTY- just poofed full of air and of course at over $2.00 a box and half of it was just air, you bet my tootie I was calling that customer service number on the box. I give them credit, they sent me coupons for free boxes at their quality control cliche.

Back to the post that got me on this subject. You have to check it out for a giggle

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

Are you Killing your own Internet Business?

January 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Don’t Manage your Time Effectively- As a home based business you will find you need to wear many hats but sometimes you may not be wearing the right one….

Spend hours in forums, chat rooms and “cruising” the internet instead of building good solid, keyword rich content for your business.

Don’t track your marketing strategies so you know what is working, what is not and what your ROI is for each method of marketing.

This includes Pay Per Click advertising,if your budget is endless then don’t bother tracking your conversion rates with clearly identified ad objectives.

Don’t ask your customers how they found you and WHY they are buying from you.

You have not written down your goals for the day and planned three things today to promote yourself either marketing, advertising, or public relations.

Acknowledge you can’t do everything but you can create a list of what does need to get done, prioritize and then get to work. Need help? Consider creating an Alliance with other home based businesses to barter services or hire a virtual assistant.

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Small Business Blogging, Tips & Advice, Work at Home MOM