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e_Marketing Blog 3 Reasons To Like Google Docs We've just started using Google Docs for collaborating on the writing of articles, blog posts, audio and video scripts, reports, etc. - anything that requires team work. After about a week with the system I am very impressed. I suspect there will be many more reasons to like Docs, but here are the first three... 1. Sharing documents is very easy. Just add someone else's Google login email address and it is done. You can optionally send an email to your collaborators telling them the file is shared. 2. Folder organization works nicely. You can save your text documents in your own folders, then share them with others who can then organize them as they see fit. This accommodates people who have a difficult time with file and folder organization. Believe it or not, everybody does not like the abstract file and folder model used and taken for granted by computer geeks everywhere. With Google Docs you share the specific document, not the document-in-a-particular-location, so Collaborator B does not have to buy into Collaborator A's folder structure. 3. The default formatting used in the basic text "documents" translates nicely into most article submission and blog entry forms. MS Word notoriously adds characters that article and blog entry forms do not like. 8 Reasons Why You Need A Blog Basic list of reasons to have a blog...My recent promotions for AutoBlog have created a fair number of questions about the value of having your own blog for doing things like marketing products and communicating with customers. The answer is "Yes". Creating and maintaining a blog is a good way to increase your online presence, make more people aware of your products and services, express opinions and share information, as well as being a good way to get feedback from customers and prospects. Here are some of the reasons why you should have a blog, perhaps even before you have a regular static website. 1. You can do just about everything with a (Wordpress*) blog that you can do with a static website. 2. Setting up a blog is much easier than creating a website. Yes, it is true there is some basic programming involved. But if you get a professional "blog setter-upper" to do it for you it will cost much less than building a decent looking website. 3. Design is very flexible. There are hundreds of free "themes" that determine how it will look. And as long as you don't modify the theme too much you can switch themes on the fly in about 15 seconds for a completely new look. 4. Blogs are generally more search engine friendly because typical blog structure forces you to create content that is optimized the way the search engines like it. 5. The search engines (usually) crawl blogs more often than static websites, because blogs change more often. As new content is introduced with new product announcements or new information, those changes will get picked up more quickly by the search engines. 6. Blogs are perfect for publishing "news and views". This means you can add new content more often, and you can cover a wider range of topics than might be covered in a normal static website. 7. Blogs are interactive which makes them great for getting reader opinion, comment, and questions. If you want to interact with your customers and prospects a blog is a good way to do it. 8. Blogs can be integrated with social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Squidoo, Hub Pages, Twitter, and many others. This is usually done by simply loading in the RSS feed that the blog automatically creates. I'm sure there are many other reasons why you should have a blog if you're involve in online business or communication. Leave a comment with your suggestions... (*Yes, I know, this is not a Wordpress blog. It is powered by b2Evolution. That's because I've had it for a couple of years, it works, gets a bit of traffic, and it would be too much hassle to change it over. There's not much doubt that Wordpress is a more versatile and certainly more popular platform, and the one I recommend to clients.) New AV Electronics Blog We just created a new blog called Audio Video Electronics featuring videos and articles about audio video equipment. |
TradeShow-Display-Experts.com - where you can find low cost trade show displays, popup displays, retractable displays, banner stands, and beautiful, long-lasting trade show graphics. Tricks of the Trade: Design your Booth for Maximum ImpactApr 19, 2006 - Linknet Business News Apr 19, 2006 - Linknet Business - Tricks of the Trade: Design your Booth for Maximum Impact, by Patty Stripes, The Trade Show Booth The fight for your customer's attention at a tradeshow has never been so intense. Budget cutbacks in the travel sector means that buyers spend less time than ever at shows. To make the most of their time, they pre-plan their agendas and do their best to stick to them. The rules of the game are forever changed. == Awesome Trade Show Graphics | Full Color Vinyl Banners - Across North America == Since so many buyers are on a tight schedule - frequently, they're only at the show for a day - they're no longer there to window shop or go bargain hunting. The good news is that they're there to "buy" - the bad news is that if you're not on their A-list, you may not get the chance to pitch them. But a well-designed tradeshow booth can change their minds - with the right presentation, you can make sure they "see" you, whether they planned to or not. Think Outside the Booth When designing your booth it's important to think about the impression you make from a distance. Focus on distance viewing first, keeping in mind that at an actual tradeshow, there will lots of distractions between your potential customer and your display. Make sure your lettering is big enough to read from a distance and place it the upper half of your display that people standing in front of the booth won't block it! Pay special attention to lighting and color as these two features contribute significantly to the overall image you convey. What's Your Sign? Nothing is more important than your signage and there are several key elements you should to incorporate it into your design. First, your sign's lettering must be distinguishable from its surroundings. Make sure your text is large enough to be read from a distance and place it over a plain background - a textured background can add interest, but it interferes with readability. It's not a good tradeoff. If space is an issue and you don't have room for lettering as large as you'd like, use light-colored letters against a dark background. The contrast will make the lettering appear larger and viewers will find it easier to read. Adding a border helps focus attention and helps the viewer read it faster. Use an accent color to present the information you want your customer to retain. Studies show that the use of a second color for key words increases the reader's retention of that information by a whopping 78%. That's a huge advantage in your fight to catch the buyer's eye. What's your story? Storyboards have always been an effective tool for conveying the most information in the least amount of time. The tradeshow version of this depicts 10 to 15 photographs of people using your product or service. This is an incredibly powerful way of conveying your message, even if your booth is unattended. The photos give your product a credibility that mere words wouldn't and ideally, will prompt anyone looking at them to seek out a salesperson to find out more. When selecting the photos to use, be cognizant of the message you want to convey and choose wisely - the average viewing time of the entire wall will be around two minutes. As with anything, a little preparation goes a long way, and this is especially true when it comes to trade shows. But a little "sleight of hand" never hurts either. Take advantage of the tricks of the trade to convey your message, and you'll be well on your way to a stand out show. Patty Stripes is an editor for The Trade Show Booth, an online resource where she has posted various articles about improving your trade show booth performance and getting creative with trade show displays. Article source - Trade Show Tips
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