|
|
e_Marketing Blog New Goa Villa Rentals Video Check out this new Goa Villa Rentals Video we just created. Goa is on the west coast of India and has a very interesting cultural mix of Indian and Portuguese. Great weather, awesome beaches, and stunning places you can rent. Different Remote Blogging Interfaces We've been testing our new remote blogging interface for the Link Builder Network called Blogging Central, and while doing that I decided to enumerate some of the alternative remote blogging interfaces I am aware of. These include some very interesting and quite powerful programs. Here are the ones I've looked at: Windows Live Writer - This is a slick program from Microsoft that interfaces with many different blogging platforms including Wordpress and b2Evolution - the two I am most interested in. I haven't actually tested it with other platforms such as blogger.com, but I am assuming it will work. For better or worse it lets you create complex posts that include tables and css elements. As with some others, this program requires you to individually configure each blog account you want to access. When you are dealing with more than 50 accounts, as in the case of the Link Builder Network, this can be a royal pain. Scribfire for Firefox - Scribefire is a Firefox plugin. In other words, it only works with the Firefox browser. Scribefire is a very slick way to interface with many different types of blogs - including Wordpress, Blogger, Moveable Type, and a few others - but not b2evolution. It lets you create relatively complicated post layouts using tables and images, and it even lets you edit previously created posts. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to setup your logins. You will have to manually enter more than 50 blog logins for the Link Builder Network. And you will have to do that for each computer you want to use it with. w.Bloggar - This is another free program that has been around for a while and has gone through a number of versions. It is currently in version 4.03, so you can be sure it is fairly stable. This program will interface with all our Wordpress and b2evolution blogs. It takes a bit of getting used to, and you must set it up for each of the blogs, but once set up it is quite efficient. We have used w.Bloggar for approximately 12 months to make posts for clients, so we know it is reliable. It is a bit more restricted on the formatting side - no tables, for instance - but this is probably a good thing. You can also load all your account logins and passwords by entering them into am .xml file and loading them all at once - a major time saver to be sure. There are other programs like these, but I am not familiar with them. The advantage of Blogging Central is that it is a dedicated system designed especially for posting to the Link Builder Network Wordpress blogs. Once in the system there is no need to login to each blog, and you can send the same post to as many as 4 blogs at once. I will have a Blogging Central video up very soon. What Good is an "Interface"? I just read over my previous post and realized that unless you are already familiar with posting to a number of blogs, it is probably not clear what I am talking about. The problem is this: you have access to a number of blogs - either ones you have created yourself, or others you are allowed to post to - and you need an efficient way of posting to them. Normally this involves actually going to the blog, logging in, posting, and then logging out. But what if you want to post to 25 or 50 different blogs, as is the case with the Link Builder Network? This becomes a very time consuming process. Is there a way to create blog posts and just "send" them to the blog? Yes, there are several programs that will do this, and I've mentioned 4 of them in the previous post. The one we created for our own set of blogs is called "Blogging Central", and you can have access to it by joining the Link Builder Network. |
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. Your Business Card Should be Your Best SalesmanMay 23, 2006 - Linknet Business News May 23, 2006 - Linknet Business Business Card Printing - Business card printing services at low rates. Quality Ink Cartridges - Ink cartridges manufactured in ISO-9001 & ISO-14001 factory certified facility. Starting a handyman business - Start your own handyman business - audio CDs, guide, billing software. Your Business Card Should be Your Best Salesman by Rick HendershotOne of the most important building blocks of a good marketing plan is your business card. It is far and away the most likely item to find its way into the hands of your most important business contacts. And it is the one thing that is likely to remain when all your other marketing materials are long gone. In other words, your business card is much more than just a piece of paper with your name, address and phone number printed on it. It is a powerful sales tool. And it should be designed with that purpose in mind. What can a business card do for your business? Before asking the inevitable questions about the design of your business card, you should ask what its function in your overall marketing plan is supposed to be. A properly designed business card has at least four important marketing functions. Here they are: 1. It helps you to introduce your company. 2. It provides critical contact information about you or your company. 3. It conveys your most important sales message. 4. It communicates your corporate image. An introduction to your company This may seem obvious, but think about it for a minute. Think of your business card as a tool for opening doors. Think of yourself at a meeting, or even at a social event. What better way to introduce yourself to a person than to hand them your card? I'm not talking about shoving your card on people who don't want it. I'm talking about using your card as a tool to make useful connections with people who are likely to appreciate the introduction. This suggests you should think of appropriate introductory "openers" to accompany your card. For instance, say you're at a business connections meeting. Since the purpose of the meeting is to meet people and do "networking", you might try a simple card swap strategy: "Hi, I'm Harriet Phillips. I'm swapping business cards with as many people as I can. Here's my card. May I have one of yours for my contact file?" Every situation will be a bit different, but the function of the card remains the same: it provides you with an excuse to introduce your business to people who might be able to use your services. Provide critical contact information on your card Before you put your card into the hands of prospects, you want to make sure it communicates the most important things about you and your company. Deciding what information is "critical" will vary from situation to situation. The basics are pretty obvious: your name, your company name, your business address, and the most effective way for people to get hold of you ? probably your telephone number and email address. Rather than putting your cell or pager number on all your cards, you might make a point of writing it on the card when you think it is appropriate: "Here, I'll give you my cell number, just in case you can't reach me at my office number." That gives the impression you're giving this person special treatment. Include Your Most Important Sales Message Even more important than giving prospects your basic contact information is conveying your Most Important Sales Message. According to Cesar Crespo of Free Card Business Card Opportunities, "Business people often miss a golden opportunity to make their business card a powerful sales tool. Our clients are often surprised at how much more effective we can make their cards." If you don't have a "Most Important Sales Message", you should create one. It is a brief, succinct statement of what your company is about. It is the answer to the question: "What does your company do?" If you don't have a "Most Important Sales Message", you should create one. It is a brief, succinct statement of what your company is about. It is the answer to the question: "What does your company do?" Sometimes this kind of answer is called an "elevator speech". You're on an elevator and somebody asks you "What does your company do?" You have six or seven seconds to give a memorable reply. Good elevator speeches go beyond hackneyed answers like "We do web marketing" or "We make bowling balls." They are confidence-inspiring marketing statements: "We create websites that sell tons of products for people." or "We make the world's most beautiful bowling balls." Your MISM (Most Important Sales Message) will often be a "product" (as in the bowling ball example above), but it should always be accompanied by a "pitch" of some kind or another. Often this will be what we usually think of as a slogan. For your elevator speech you need a seven second slogan. For your business card you will need the same slogan in four or five words at the most. It must be boiled down to an string of words that not only sounds good, but looks good on the card: "Websites that Sell Like Crazy", "The World's Most Beautiful Bowling Balls", "The Discount Real Estate Guy", "The Source for Cottages and Summer Homes", "Beautiful Color Vinyl Banners." Be Consistent with your Corporate Image Finally, make your card consistent with your corporate image and the rest of your marketing materials. Usually this boils down to basic things like your choice of colors, typeface, and layout style. And of course you will want to include your company logo. Usually your marketing consultant or graphic designer will want to plaster your logo on all your marketing materials, using the logo as a substitute for real marketing design. "We must convey a consistent corporate image" is the usual mantra. What ever you do, don't ask "Why?" That question opens the way for tedious theorizing about "the long term importance of developing a corporate image." You would be better to agree. "Yes, by all means, we want to present a consistent corporate image." And then add, "But I want this card to do some selling for me, so I would like to give the sales message a bit more prominence than usual." In other words, use the usual corporate colors, typeface and layout style. Include the logo too. But give prominence to the sales message. Show a picture of your product. Or if you think you are the product (as most real estate agents seem to think), then include your own picture. But don't forget to enhance the photo with that slogan we talked about in the previous section. And now that you have a killer card, get out there and start handing them out. Article Source - Click-Partners.com
Linknet-News.com provides daily news summaries in article and RSS format.
|
|
|