The Blog - Where Business Collides with Human Nature

What will it take to get a yes?  Not just a nod of the head, but action in the form of an introduction.

What it takes has been referred to as an ethical bribe, bait, an offer, a bargain, something free and by many other names.  I like to think of it as something valuable that will have high impact and make their day.  You can do it online, in a radio spot, by phone or on the TV.  The reason the Internet is a great option is because of the cost and convenience.

If you have any to all of the offers on the list below, you increase your chances of getting an introduction.

You have searched for images that will set you apart and are coming up empty. Better yet, you hope to find free images or graphics.  Maybe you have resorted to "borrowing" them from another website (which is most likely theft).  No one notices and "everyone" is doing it, so you take a chance.

Blogging has become a way for small businesses to further connect and engage with their readers – and the concept has caught fire. 

A solid and well-written blog can help you in more ways than one – it can build your credibility and a more credible website will rank better in Google. However, with so many eyes on your business blog, mistakes can be detrimental.

As you write your business blog, make sure you avoid these six big mistakes of business blogging:

Either you have no time, low skill, or prefer to avoid writing.  You realize that without an article, blog, ebook, white paper, special report or declaration... there will be no progress.  Writing is involved in any form of marketing.  Who can you hire?  Who will help you? 

In order to understand bad content vs good content, we need to consider the context.  An inbound marketing pro will tell you that relevance may be the most important piece but even relevance on its own is not enough.  The context of course is related to audience, education, experience, culture, difficulty to create and as Seth Godin will say "how remarkable is it?".  Thus, just as beauty, quality is based on the eyes of the beholder.

"Excellent job!" today does may not look so impressive six months down the road. 

Inbound marketing is a bit like writing a joke. 

You sit with a pencil.

You begin to chuckle and then guffaw... and write.

A little while later, the joke is written.  It is done.

You are convinced it is the funniest joke you have ever written.  Wait until they hear your joke.

Five experiments, five conclusions - in a slideshow. In a recent Web clinic, MECLABS walked through the most important discoveries of the year so you can learn the progress MECLABS analysts and scientists have made.

In the slide show below, you will see a summary of the actual research-grounded answers to the following questions: 

• When is the best time to send an email? 
• How should I design my website navigation? 
• Can a brand really make an impact on conversion? 
• Is my page missing critical copy?
• and more...

You can add fish robots to your wish list this year.  A fish robot is also known as an Aquabot.

While the search engines are less likely to give you a boost in ranking because keywords are included in the domain name or url, you should continue to do so.

In the few seconds it takes for visitors recognize a website as relevant and helpful, details matter.

By creating domain names or urls which which are very specific to the product or service, you provide another way for the visitor know instantly if they are in the right place.

Pretty much everybody has seen infographics on social media sites or on a company’s website before. However, in the past, it was pretty much only large companies with considerable resources and time to collect data that were using and implement infographics effectively.

Today, even small businesses can create infographics, and they can be a huge boon to you overall social media presence. Infographics can help you create a viral marketing campaign and really get your content out there to users who will share it – something that’s very important for reaching new customers and your general target audience.

A simple truth:  Running a business is much different than five years ago.  Before you dive into the infographic below,  take off your old hat and mindset of: "This is how we've always done it".  A new survey data from Constant Contact, where they asked 917 small business owners to explain what it's like running their small business now compared to five years ago.  Then, in honor of National Small Business Week,  Constant Contact compiled this data into an infographic to highlight the study's discoveries about how running a small business has changed.

While your own business may vary from the infographic, it is important to stay aware of the new reality. Changes over the last five years have been mostly invisible.  The virtual world, mobile, and electronics continue to reshape how we live around the globe and we don't see a thing as the world morphs.