small business

3 Questions You Should Ask Before Hiring a Web Developer

by Ivana Taylor September 17, 2011
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There are many questions you can ask when selecting a developer to build your website. Are you compatible with them? Do you like their portfolio? Do they have good references? There are, however, some non-obvious questions that you should also ask before making the final selection. Here are 3 that I recommend you ask any [...]

Mindflash Offers A New Revenue Channel For Subject Matter Experts in Small Business

by Ivana Taylor September 15, 2011
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Attention Small Business Experts!  Here’s a New Way to Add Dollars to Your Bottom Line! There is nothing that a marketing person loves more than finding new ways to add customers and profitable revenue to the bottom line.  So when the folks over at Mindflash approached me with their latest innovation, I got really excited [...]

The Online Trust Issue – Tips to Find the Right Trust Seal for Your Small Business

by Raj Malik September 6, 2011
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All small online businesses face a common issue.  They do not have a large brand name, awareness, nor sufficient credibility because people are not familiar with the vast majority of small businesses.  Consequently, small businesses who do not clearly and convincingly demonstrate trustworthiness and reliability, face lost sales, abandoned shopping carts on their websites and [...]

Your 5-Step Plan to Outsourcing Success

by Ivana Taylor September 2, 2011
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This is a guest post from Sander Daniels, Co-Founder of Thumbtack.com a new outsourcing service for small business.  At some point, even DIYMarketers have to outsource in order to get it all done and grow their business.  In this article, Sander gives some fantastic advice on how to outsource painlessly and get the results you’re [...]

How to Choose the Best Hosting Service for Your Small Business

by Ivana Taylor August 18, 2011
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Are you pulling your hair out trying to decide what type of web hosting is right for you or your business? You are not alone. Many individuals and businesses struggle with choosing a web host, because it can be confusing to the average user, not to mention it is a very daunting task. Be that [...]

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

by Adam Blitzer August 17, 2011
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Today’s guest post is by Adam Blitzer, COO and Co-founder of Pardot, a marketing and email automation system.   The key to sales and marketing in a small business is efficiency. Marketing automation technology can help tremendously by eliminating manual effort and nurturing leads. Small companies often have a seat-of-your-pants approach to marketing, simply because they [...]

4 Easy Steps Building a Plan for Marketing Automation

by Ivana Taylor July 25, 2011
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The holy grail of “marketing automation” continues to be the reining “shiny object” within the marketing industry.  First reserved for B2C, then for large enterprise B2B, marketing automation has now expanded into the small business market.  But too often companies think they need marketing automation and implement a full system right off the bat. Before [...]

Join the #BBSMBchat About #SMBInfluencer Awards

by Ivana Taylor July 22, 2011
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On Monday July 25, 2011 between 7:00pm and 8:00pm ET there’s going to be a Tweet Chat about the SMBInfluencer Awards. What are the SMBInlfuencer Awards? The small business space has become increasingly crowded and overwhelming.  Even if you troll around the small business internet space, it’s unbelievably easy to be confused about who is [...]

5 Questions to Ask Before Branding Your Small Business

by Ivana Taylor July 18, 2011
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Sure, we know effective branding is crucial for a company’s viable success, but that doesn’t get us any closer to knowing how to implement a realistic branding strategy. Branding can be even more challenging for small business owners who might not have the funds needed for extensive marketing platforms. Fortunately, small businesses owners still have [...]

Nimble is a New Social CRM Tool That Streamlines Your Sales and Social Media Activities

by Ivana Taylor July 1, 2011
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I’m always being asked for strategies to increase the ROI of social media.  DIYMarketers are busy folks and no one has any time to waste. My advice to every crazy-busy  small business owner who has recognized that social media as a marketing vehicle is just too valuable to pass up is to streamline and automate [...]