Thursday 28 March 2013

FUN WAYS TO IMPROVE THE IMAGE OF YOUR BUSINESS


Did you know something as simple as screen printing could vastly improve the image of your company? Here are some ideas for creating a better image and for having fun while doing it.  

Give Away Tees:
One way that you can get your name out there the right way is to create a positive stir. They say that any publicity is good publicity because it means that people know who you are. But it is important to keep your business in a positive light. Show up to the next job fair or booth setting prepared.

Give away company memorabilia such as pens and other goods that people actually use.


Kids and adults alike love free t-shirts, especially when they are coupled with an event where they make sense. For example, one restaurant in Fresno, California sponsored the football college red Zone shirts and thus got great publicity. They paid for the shits and therefore got their name on the back. Everyone wore the shirts to games, so every person standing in back of a Red Zone student saw the restaurant name. It was perfect, fun advertising. Give away screen-printed tees anywhere you talk about the company, such as at schools, at college or job fairs, or elsewhere.

Sponsor A Team:
This can go hand in hand with giving away memorabilia and supporting the local economy or sports network. Sponsor a sports team for some great exposure. You can choose a larger team, like the city college or a national one. Or you can pick a small minor league or kiddy group. Children’s tee ball and other teams need, love, and appreciate support.

So see if your kids or some others need a sponsor this year. Pay for the equipment or whatever they need, and make shirts to represent what you stand for-good values and hard work and perseverance. You can even screen print backpacks and bags that they and their parents can wear to school and out and about. This is a clean way to make an image. This also gives you a chance to rename the team for more exposure. For example, when the local Shakeys pizza sponsored the young boy’s basketball team, they named the team “Shakeys.” It was adorable, everyone loved it, and the business got great press that led to more business and a good image.

Make A Team:
Or make a league of your own. You can make a company league as part of the yearly initiative to get fit and healthy in the office. Make wearable goods to spark team spirit and cohesiveness. Invite other companies to play ball, as well as family members and clients. This is a fun way to get your name heard among associates and their friends. Invite others to play and have a blast with good, clean fun.

About the Author: Ashley is a Professional Writer with a passion for technology and business. She has been published on several business websites and enjoys sharing tips and advice for small businesses.

HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH THE USE OF CLASSIFIED ADS

Free Classified Ad Websites are a fantastic way for you to promote your business online on a low budget. Promoting your services and products online using these marketing sites is fairly simple and can be achieved in just a few easy steps. Free classified ad sites are particularly good for small business owners who perhaps
cannot afford to launch an expensive marketing campaign in order to advertise and market their company. This being said, it is vital that you select a free classified advertising website that also provides you with handy tools and helpful advice to get you started.

1) Proper wording is imperative

You need to place an ad that will stand out from the crowd on a free classified website. To begin you much choose a phrase that clearly describes your service or product. In order to do this it sometimes helps to consider television adverts; those that are most memorable and recognisable all have a jingle. You need to aim to produce a similar effect using the written word in your free classified ads. You will need to include a link to your website together with your email address to ensure that customers can contact you easily if they have any queries.

2) Where to place your free classified ads

Free classified ad websites can be easily found. An internet browser search will quickly find hundreds of results for you to choose from. Visit the top ten web pages in order to find out what types of ads are being placed. In Nigeria, one of the biggest free classifieds websites is TradeStable, where you can place your ad on a specific category and even region. Do a little research by taking a look at those advertising similar products or services to your own and place your ads. It it advisable that you alter your ads each week to ensure that you place something new and interesting on a regular basis.

3) Key aspects to remember

It is important to be in possession of a tax id and business license before getting started as it is more likely that customers will want to do business with you. Be creative and think up attention grabbing advertisements to draw in your potential customers. Make use of all the free ad sites available as marketing is the only way to inform the public about your products and services.
I can not emphasise enough the advantages of using free classified ad websites. There can be no doubt that they will bring more customers to your website and thus, increase your income and the overall success of your business. These ad websites are also great if you are looking to purchase or sell a particular product or service online. By using these services you will be able to sell used cars online, purchase electronic goods and discover new businesses at the click of a button.

About the Author: M. L. Davis is a freelance writer currently living in Rome, Italy. She is the proud mother of a 4 year-old and an inspiring WAHM (Working At Home Mom), continuing with her passion for writing about various topics online.

Thursday 14 March 2013

GROWING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS PRESENCE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA


Social media are the favorite where they provide us with the easiest way to connect to new friends and carry out conversations with all the connected ones. The popularity of social networking sites is rising speedily. 
The use of social media does not restrict you to just signing in, posting some messages and then signing out. In fact, it is an effective way of making users highly aware of your products or services. It allows people and business to have a personal interaction where even a small business can develop productive customer and client relationships with a right strategy and consistent interaction activity.
   
Generally, large companies attain high benefits through social media where the numbers of followers and responses to status updates determine their position. This is a problem with small businesses where they mostly do not get responses as good as large businesses get. However, by investing time and right efforts in carrying out conversations with clients and building trust, small businesses can grow tremendously. 
Let us see how.

Start with Social Media Sites:
You should make social media pages to announce your product and increase awareness amongst customers. The main thing here is to provide your page with the right information involving description about your business, products or services, website URL and contact information. 
Your style should be effective in terms of communication and presentation. 
It should not differ much on different social media sites since it may create confusion amongst customers with respect to your business identity. 
The effectiveness of your site will increase when you start interacting with customers. You should respond to the queries or acknowledge feedbacks in order to make them realize that you value them. The conversations on the page will make you determine how well things are going for your business. Regular status updates are what keep the interest of the audience intact in your business thing. In fact, they will get immediate responses if the idea or information is appealing.


Blog Your Way:
Blogging is a highly significant element of social media marketing, which readers use on a large scale to find out the information about businesses, products or services. In fact, many social media experts believe that even commenting on high authority sites or blogs can add up to the visibility of your website. Both these things can prove highly beneficial for small businesses where most users do consider blogs before making any buying decision. It is advisable that you maintain an employee blog in your website. This will enable your visitors to understand what you do, and you should provide information about your niche. This will also provide information about the working of your company, past success stories and product- or service-related latest trends and development. This will help improve your trust factor amongst customers.

 

Improve Brand Exposure through Videos:
Video marketing is the most popular way of increasing your brand awareness. Well-prepared videos always appeal the visitors where educating them about your products and services in an effective manner 
is the key. Small businesses, after starting with social media sites and blogging, can give a try to video marketing where they can look at appealing the visitors visually. If your posted video has what it takes, 
it may even push the visitor to opt for your services or buy your product. 

Apart from this, small businesses should also consider social bookmarking, forum posting, guest blogging, and photo sharing once they start seeing improvement in the business or better if they use them right from the start. Thus, the spread of the word of the mouth resulting from sharing content, videos and images on different social marketing platforms will do the trick in improving things for your small business. Of course, it will not be so easy to see improvement at the start as it may take some or a lot of time. The key is to work on each of social media optimization techniques consistently. If you are starting your business right from scratch, it is advisable that you opt for a reliable SMO company. 
Make sure that you research about companies beforehand and then only choose the right one. Thus work towards it and get the most out of social media marketing to serve your business right from the beginning.



Author Bio: Numero Uno Web Solutions is a promising global Internet Marketing firm based in Toronto that caters to small and mid-size business-to-consumer companies. With extensive strategies such as search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization  (SEO), 
SMO and web designing. We offer excellent assistance to help our clients increase their website traffic.

Tuesday 12 March 2013

TIPS ON SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH FREELANCE WRITERS

Great content is key to a successful blog, but creating a constant supply of fresh content can be full-time work. You may not have time to keep up with your content demands while also managing the rest of your blog responsibilities. Hiring a freelance writer can be a great solution to your content needs.

However, your working relationship with a freelance writer can go awry. You may get poor content, deadlines may be passed, and goals may fail to be reached. It's important to take some proactive steps to ensure that you have a successful relationship with your freelance writer to get the great content you need. Here are a few steps you can take:

Pre-screen Carefully: Before you select your freelancer, make sure you do some proper pre-screening. This includes checking out the freelancer's online reputation, looking at published clips, and asking for a sample article. When you find a freelance who has a reputation for delivering quality work and who has outstanding published clips, you can feel assured of the quality of work product you can expect to get.

Convey Expectations: Many time, the reason that a working relationship breaks down is that expectations have not been properly conveyed. 
Make sure you articulate exactly what you need from the writer, covering everything from the word count of posts to the amount of traffic you expect to attract. Discuss writing style, tone, topics, and more. Make sure that everything is clear before you begin.

Provide Keywords: The writer might provide you with some outstanding content, but if it's not written for the keywords you are trying to target, 
it won't bring you the traffic that you want. Do your own keyword research before you hire your freelance writer, and then provide the writer with the list of keywords you are targeting. Make sure that posts are optimized for at least one or two of these keywords, and make sure your posts eventually cover the whole list.

Approve Topics: Even with clear communication and keyword guidance, you and your writer may still have different ideas of what content you will publish. Avoid any surprises (or conflict) by asking the writer to submit a list of topics to you for approval before writing them. You can be sure that you are getting the content you need, and your writer won't feel like he has wasted his time writing posts that aren't going to be published.

Keep the Dialogue Going: In order for your relationship to continue to be successful, you have to continue to communicate well. Check in with each other every couple of weeks or more to discuss upcoming blog topics, any changes in keyword strategy, the results you are seeing with traffic, and whether your other goals are being met. You can tweak your content strategy as needed to make sure you are both working effectively to meet goals. Hiring a freelance writer can help take your blog to the next level, but you have to be clear about your goals in order to make sure the relationship is successful. Use these tips to ensure success working with a freelance writer to get the great content that you need.

Have you hired a freelance writer for your blog? Share your tips for success in the comments!

About the Author: Alexis Bonari writes for collegescholarships.org, an open database of college funding opportunities. Specific topics like grants for school are described in detail to provide multiple resources for students.

Friday 8 March 2013

GSA SCHEDULE CONTRACT- ESSENTIAL STEPS & GUIDANCE FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Any small or mid-sized business in the US willing to get access to federal projects must procure a GSA contract. If your firm is thinking to divulge into federal contracting or work with the government, it is imperative for your firm to get hold of a GSA Schedule Contract that can make your firm more appealing to the government buyers. Such contracts include terms, pre-fixed pricing along with various other conditions to make the federal buying process more convenient and are also utilized by government firms to buy the goods and services of an individual company.
To add to it, such projects enable the small firm owners to get benefited from billions of dollar spending of the US government, set aside only for the small businesses via the GSA program.

Individual company owners can always present their proposal and acquire such contract anytime. However, experts advise to take ample time to evaluate the present situation of the business before beginning the process. Such evaluations may include:

*Position of the firm in terms of financials, previous performance and managerial structure in order to acquire a GSA Schedule Contract.
*Structure and resources needed to use the contract successfully.
*The plan of action after getting the contract.

To bag such a federal project, it is crucial to strategize and prepare before taking any step. Proper preparation is the only key to get hold of such government contracts. Below mentioned are the essential steps that should be taken by an individual business owner while preparing for GSA contracts.

Determining the Financial Condition: In order for a business owner to qualify for such contracts, the financial stability of the firm is essential. Hence, business owners are highly recommended to take time in assessing the financial condition of the company. An applying business firm must be in business for not less than 2 years and must not have their resources owed or any liens. GSA does not award contracts to firms who have been in business for less than 2 years. Special focus should be given on the financial ratios such as debt-to-equity and asset-to-liability. Before initiating the proposal procedure, an applying firm must display its financial stability and longevity.

Establish Federal Expertise: To procure such projects, federal experience is not mandatory. GSA contracts in the US are designed to enhance the commercial business transactions, hence a firm only needs to show its customary background of commercial sales. Experts advise to establish federal expertise before making the proposal, considering the resources and time included to attain such contracts.
One of the best ways to break into federal market is subcontracting. Able to do business with prime contractors will give huge exposure to the individual firms in the government market and get will let them get acquainted with federal contracting industry.

Analyzing the Type of Business Fit for the GSA Program:  GSA program offers schedules for almost every type of business. Applicants are highly suggested to surf the e-Library of GSA and analyze whether the offered products or services meet the standard set by the government.

Come-up with a Federal Marketing Strategy: Such schedules undoubtedly make the federal buying process much easier; however applicants are advised to look out for various sales options. For this purpose, a proper market research should be done. Applying companies should find out which other business firm has the biggest demand for the products and services in question. Such firms must compete with other companies in respect to the quality of their goods and make sure that the business does not suffer due to geographical locations. Only an effective and a flawless marketing plan can get a candidate obtain such contracts in a hassle-free manner.

With the passage of time, the government market is becoming a hot topic for the small business owners, especially due to the deteriorating condition of the economy. By simplifying the sales process, such projects give a strong competitive edge to the applying companies in the federal market.

Author Bio: Adriana Sopi is a qualified business consultant. Over the years he has given suggestion and advice to numerous business owners regarding a GSA Schedule Contract