Poor Richard's Almanac For Email Marketers

Ben Franklin wasn’t exactly a marketer; but he was many other things.

He was one of America’s founding fathers, and the dude sure was pithy with his business advice. So here we have some bits of his wisdom, passed down from his Poor Richard’s Almanacs and showing you how they can help you grow your business.

Here are our favorite Poor Richard-isms. Don’t market without them.

Poor Richard's Almanac for Email Marketers

How To Build A Marketing Plan For A Small Business

A marketing plan is part of your overall business plan ... and very important part. With that in mind you should spend special attention to building your marketing plan as it may make the difference between success and failure.

Here's what you need to consoider to build a marketing plan that will set your small business off in the right direction.

TASTE, TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGY

What does your research indicate is the trend in your field? Will it stay the way you are currently offering supplies and services or will it change? This item covers the developments you expect for the next few years. Evan a 'perfect' business can become obsolete overnight due to future developments. Specify a 5 year forecast of your field in your area.

SALES REVENUE FORECAST

Have you developed these targets? This section shows your estimates of future sales revenue for your business. Your strategic plan, needs to spell out the specific actions you will take to achieve your forecast sales revenues.

DIFFERENTIATE YOUR BUSINESS FROM THE COMPETITION

How does your business differ from the competition's strong and weak points. Again, remember to carefully look at your business from the customer's perspective. If you're not sure how your pricing policies compare to the competition, here are some guidelines. Most people associate high prices with high quality and extra service, while they associate low prices with low or average quality and minimum service. Make sure you provide extra quality and service if your prices are higher than your competition or make sure that your prices are lower if your quality is average and your service is minimum.

DECIDE HOW TO REACH CUSTOMERS

Once you describe your target customer, it's easier to create a list of possible ways to reach that person. One of your jobs as a businessperson is to decide which of all the possible methods of communication will give you the most exposure for the least cost in money or time.

EVALUATE THE RISKS FACING YOUR BUSINESS

COMPETITION: Most businesses have competition. How will your business differ in significant and positive ways from your competition? If your competition is strong, don't minimize that fact, but figure out ways you will adjust to or use that strength. For example, if you plan to open a restaurant next to an extremely popular one, part of your strategy might be to cater to the overflow. Another might be to open on days or evenings when the other restaurant is closed.

PIONEERING: If you anticipate no direct competition, your business probably involves selling a new product or service, or one that is new to your area. How will you avoid going broke trying to develop a market?

CYCLES AND TRENDS: Many businesses have cycles of growth and decline often based on outside factors such as taste, trends or technology. What is your forecast of the cycles and trends in your business? For example, if your forecast tells you that the new electronic product you plan to manufacture may decline in three years when the market is saturated, can you earn enough money in the meantime to make the venture worthwhile?

SLOW TIMES: Every business experiences ups and downs. Is your business small and simple enough, or capitalized adequately enough, to ride out slow times? Or do you have some other strategy, such as staying open long hours in the busy season and closing during times of the year when business is ?

OWNERS EXPERTISE: Nobody knows everything. How do you plan to compensate for the knowledge you're short on?

Write your risk analysis by first thinking of the main dangers your business faces. This shouldn't be hard, as you have probably been concerned about them for some time. Some of these may be on the list set out above; others will be unique to your business. Once you have identified the principal risks facing your business, write out a plan to counter each. But don't bog yourself down worrying about all sorts of unlikely disasters.

What Is The Biggest Technological Hurdle Small Business Face When Marketing Themselves Online?

Is it a time issue? Is it a lack of skill? Is it budgetary constraints? What would help small businesses make the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time if that hurdle didn't exist?

All of the above, and more.

Human beings tend to stick with what provides proven results. That means doing things the way they've always been done.

Small business owners, like everyone else, have "invisible scripts" that affect their decision making even if they're not aware of it. They probably have this script in the back of their minds that says, "Anything related to technology and online tools is going to be expensive."

In other words, it may not be a REAL budgetary, skill, or time constraint, but the perception that these factors prohibit online ventures. Plus, they don't really know where to start. They probably know that either they're going to have to learn (script: "I don't have time for that") or hire somebody on to manage it (script: "I can't afford to hire someone to manage an unproven tool"). Perception trumps reality every time.

Though new technology can save money and make tasks easier in the long run, and online ventures don't have to cost an arm and a leg, if the perception is that such things are going to be expensive with questionable ROI...

But it may also be more fundamental. Small business owners get a bright idea, or have a skill, and want to turn it into a business. They decide they need a website. Then, usually much to their distress, they discover that they will have to be in 2 businesses. One of them is the one they want to be in, and the other is something, that vaguely dawns on them, under the heading of internet marketing. They aren't sure where to turn. They don't know who to trust. They discover that if they don't get a grip on technology and marketing, they probably won't have a business.

Have you heard the expression, "surrounded by people and no one to talk to"? The whole 'technology and marketing' thing is so vast, with so much information, much of it conflicting, that they wind up frozen in place. They don't know where to turn, or what a reasonable first step might be.

We've spent years trying to crack the code on this. I think we learn a little more about it every day. When it comes to technology and marketing online I think small business owners need to first take a step backwards, back to the basics of marketing and planning. I'm a firm believer in setting goals first, then making a plan based on those goals, and then taking action.

Without knowing what they want to accomplish it's difficult to decide which tools to use. More web traffic? More sales? Make the phone ring? And it's hard to determine a budget for online marketing if you don't know why you're doing it.

That said, I think small business owners face one or all of the hurdles mentioned. Time, skill, money. As to what would help, once they've identified goals and challenges, it's easier to identify if they need to carve out time, learn new skills, or outsource everything. I don't think there is one size fits all solution, but if you've got one, I want to know!

Is Advertising In The Yellow Pages Worth It Anymore?

If it provides a higher ROI than other forms of advertising/marketing that you are tracking, then YES, it is worth it!

Don't get sucked into an oversimplified WORKS / DOESN'T WORK thought process about any given advertising medium. It's not a question of "Is it worth it anymore? It is a question of "Can I make it work for my business?"

Clearly, it is still working for SOME businesses in SOME industries, unless 100% of phone book advertisers are losing money and not tracking their results at all. But, assuming some of the advertisers are actually tracking ROI (return on investment) of their phone book ads, then it IS possible to make it work in some situations.

If you think Yellow Pages/other phone books are worth testing for your market, be sure you include the following elements in your ad, so that it is effective, and so that you can track its results. Then, be sure to track all your inbound leads, including phone book ads, and compare not just the sales to the cost of the ad, but the profits from those sales. Remember, we're in business for profits, not topline sales.

Elements to include in a phone book ad:

* Clear headline that attracts your exact target market and compels them to stop and read your ad

* A compelling, exciting offer that is only offered to phone book readers, AND which is described as being only for phone book users (this allows you to track the ad performance/ROI, and also gives readers something "special/unique" they can not get anywhere else)

* Clear instructions on how to respond to the offer - email, phone, website, mail, physical location, etc.

* Testimonial from a happy customer, preferably with that person's full name, city, age, occupation, etc. (makes it more credible - make sure you have the person's testimonial release signed and on file so you don't get in trouble)

* Make your ad about the customer and "What's In It For Them". Don't make it about you, your company, or your product/service.

Phone book ads are not the "must have" for all businesses that they were 20 or 30 years ago. But, they can be effective in certain industries and for certain demographics. Don't rule them out totally until you have measured the ROI against other marketing you are doing... (That goes for anything you are considering in advertising/marketing.)

The bottom line message is this ....

It depends.... on your target audience!!!! For example the 60+ audience in some markets tend to use traditional "old school" media outlets; therefore, the Yellow Pages, bill boards, print newspapers should still be considered. Social media doesn't reach all audiences.

Point - successful marketing campaigns need to reach your target customer ... where they are ... not where you are.

Social Media Marketing For Small Business

Many small business owners might think that social media marketing is just a "fad" or a short term "craze" that will fade out soon. Don't count on it.

In fact many of the most influential and successful marketing efforts today ... regardless of the size of the business ... all involve social media marketing. Never before has something like this come along that also levels the playing field between the "little guy" and the "big boys". With little to no expense any small business can play in the big time without breaking the bank ... or breaking their back.

To arm you with the information to take advantage of this business building technique ... here's the link to a YouTube playlist of video's with hows-to's and tips for using social media marketing for your business.

Social Media Marketing For Small Business

Simply click on the link above ... than scroll down to the last Featured Playlist in the right side menu. Clicking on that link will take you to a list of videos designed to show you various ways to market your small business using social media.

You'll find such topics as .....

* How To Set Up A Facebook Profile (Updated)

* Creating A Facebook Page (Updated)

* About The New Facebook Page Timeline

* Using A Facebook Page For Your Business

* How To Set Up A Twitter Account

* How To Find Followers On Twitter

* Top 10 Twitter Tips For e-Business

How To Position Your Small Business As The "Go To" Expert

You want your small business to be considered as the "Go To" in your market niche. To get to that lofty position as the "Go To" expert you need to raise your business visibility in your market demographic.

To do this you need your marketing to demonstrate your knowledge, wisdom, expertise, testimonials and case studies. You can accomplish this by creating digital assets and syndicating them online -

For example ....

Maybe as part of your cloud marketing strategy instead of limiting yourself by doing everything on your own website, you perhaps leverage other resources out there in the cloud to help create sales opportunities for yourself.

Think about the digitial assets you may already have but not be leveraging...

* Ebooks
* Case Studies
* Reports
* White papers
* Presentations
* Articles
* Checklists
* Powerpoints
* Pdfs
* Spreadsheet tools
* Videos
* Software

You could of course also consider ....

* Registering on various "Experts Sites"

* Blog on various social networks

* Participate in niche groups on Facebook

* Participate in niche groups on Linkedin

* Participate in niche forums

* Answer questions on Linkedin answers

* Be a guest blogger on other people's sites using blogsearch.google.com

* Upload your own instructional videos on digitalmotion, youtube etc

* Use slideshare, docstoc, scribd


* Write articles and submit em to various article directories

* Spin your articles and create more

* Publish video testimonials online

* Create audio podcasts of your blogs, or chapters of your book

* Create your own phone app

Theres just a few to get you started. Pick a few and and set those up. Once they're established move on to a few more ... and so on.

The Best Way To Advertise A Small Business On A Very Small Budget

Small business. Small Budget. Doesn't have to mean small results.

Step number One for any new business is to make a list of everyone you know or have had contact with ... Everyone.

Believe it or not, we all tend to know about 500 people, often more ... family, friends, old work mates, people we have bought from, sold to, helped out, spent time with etc etc etc. ... $ cost of this NIL.

Then Step 2 is to contact all of them, yes ALL of them and tell them about your business ... and ask them if they have any work for you, or know anyone who might, and/or if they would be kind enough to send your information onto others and/or post in on their work noticeboard or intranet. If you have email addresses use them, or call people, or send them some informnation in the mail. $$ cost = small

Whatever you do, you have to announce that your business has started and you are ready, willing and able to start helping people out. Lots of years ago, when someone started a business, they would hang a "shingle" outside their premises to tell passers by they were open.

You need to do the same ... tell the world, then once you've made some money you can invest some of it in another level of promotion ... just make sure that you always measure how much revenue you get for every dollar of marketing investment! Make it pay for itself many times over.

For online advertising ..... a website, Yelp, Citysearch, Yahoo, Google, Superpages, Merchantcircle, Manta, Facebook, LinkedIn, Talent,me, BranchOut, Twitter, Thumbtack, Yellowbook, USdirectories, Kudzu, Insiderpages, Switchboard, Localsearch. Those are all sites you can add a URL, profile, picture, logo, etc. for free. You just need the free time and there are lots more. It would get you started and as you go you can start adding keywords, enhance your profile, etc. Basically it could just be enough without spending a dime.

The short answer though is there is no "best way."

Social Media might be right for you or it might not. It depends on whether your customers are there or not.

Here's what you need to do: diversify. You must try multiple tactics and rigorously measure the results. The ability to rapidly grow a business stems from the discipline of testing and measuring.

Now, there are a bunch of low/no cost tactics you can try:

* Referral strategies... there are several.

* Networking

* Cold calling

* Market survey (go ask people what they want, in person, then create the business they want, then go back and offer it to them. Hard work - big potential results)

* Host Beneficiary... align with someone who already serves your market and offer them an exclusive benefit for their customers only

* Free how to seminars/webinars/teleseminars (you have a ton of expertise that would be of interest to lots of people)

* Have a smart SEO strategy (that might cost a little, but could be worthwhile. I bet people search on google for your business)

* Build a quality fan page on Facebook with offers/discounts/coupons as well as continual high value information

* Videos on youtube and on your web site

* Door hangers or flyer drops if you have some budget and a clear area of town where your customer are.

* Start/join a referral group of non-competitive businesses with the same market

And more......

Sounds like a lot right? No one said business is easy. Start with a couple and then add. Measure the results. Keep those that work. Drop those that don't. And when I say measure the results, I mean measure whether you made profit on the program. If you pay $5000 on a campaign and it produces $2500 in gross profit, it was a bad investment even if it brought you 1000 leads.

Skills Every Small Business Owner Needs

Bearing in mind, that almost 80% of new businesses fail within their first 5 years, it's smart for every small business owner to find out what they can do to try prevent this happening to them.

From my perspective, I believe the vital skills that new business owners need to have are effective financial management skills and excellent strategic marketing skills.

Many will say that having sales skills is vital, but sales is only one aspect of marketing and at times you may not even need a hard sell approach.

Marketing is about looking at every aspect of your business to ensure that you are customer (or consumer) focused in order to make a profit. Keeping in touch with your customers regularly to find out if they are still happy with your product / service is vital and can also help you build your business by getting new product idea's or different ways to do something that will add more value to your customers as well as to your business. Too many small businesses get arrogant or complacent and think that they are doing a "fab" job and that all their customers love them. 2 years later when they don't have half the customers they used to have & they don't know what went wrong. What went wrong was that they were not on top of their customers feelings about their product / service.

Marketing is also about finding effective ways to promote your company so that your target market finds you, or you find your target market. There are many ways of doing this eg. advertising, selling, PR, promotions.

So my advice is to make sure you research your product extensively with consumers to make sure it is supplying a very real need, make sure that you can make your required profit (even if it is in a couple of months time), check that there is not too much competition, promote your business effectively and efficiently and then when your business is up and running, make sure you do regular research with your customers re. their satisfaction (make sure you allow them to make comments which could enhance their experience with your company)

I would highly recommend that you do some research regarding strategic marketing or even one of the courses that the IMM (Institute of Marketing Management) has, or find someone who is knowledgeable on the subject. (Marketing skills are skills that would benefit every person in an organisation as well as the company itself)

Remember it can take up to 2 years to see a business running successfully, so don't give up if you are doing something you love and that other people really need.

Print Advertising For Small Business .... Is It Worth It?

If you are considering advertising in the newspaper or other publications, first you need to determine if your target market is actually reading the publication. Newspaper advertising is for companies looking to reach large audiences across numerous demographic groups.

Second, ask yourself if you will be able to profit from the ad if only 5% of the readers respond to it and purchase from you. A $2,000.00 ad should at least make you a profit of $2001.00 or else it is a costly choice.

Finally, make sure that the advertising you choose is right for you and your potential customers. Many advertising sales people will gladly sell you what they think you need, but only you truly know your customer.

I would definitely choose web-based advertising over print, but that will usually be just as expensive if it does not work. So, choose something that your customers will respond to positively and in large numbers.

My opinion, for what it is worth, is about control.

Print advertising, is fixed, and cannot be adapted. Whether a potential client looks at the advert or not is almost entirely down to good layout and positioning message, plus large amounts of luck.

Say a client does take a look. Are they motivated to find your website, or pick up the phone? What contact details do you get? Will you ever know that your advert was read? The answer to most of this is NO!

You can only take control of a discussion, once a dialogue has been initiated by the client. This means that you are not master of your own destiny. My preference would be to explore some of the many online options that are likely to get you some kind of feedback, if not any more sales. Statistics on the attention your advert got, if nothing else, will allow you to position your next ad in a different way, that may this time hit the mark.

The trouble with print advertising is that it is expensive and guarantees nothing. This is generally not yet recognised in the pricing.

Never underestimate the power of referral. As an established business, you are likely to already have a database of past clients and potential clients that could be leveraged through a direct marketing campaign. This may be more fruitful than any of the above.

Tips For Starting A Small Business

When starting a small business there's much to think about. Here's a few tips to help you focus in on what is important.

Understanding your market is important, in that by doing so you will not only generate business, but understand how much profit you can expect to make on your sales.

Don't be shy about making a profit- it's why most of us are in business. If, for example, a customer says they can "get something cheaper at XYZ giant retailer", explain to them the advantages of your products/services, and that you are not in business to compete with XYZ. Even if the products you offer are similar, you probably have advantages in personal service, location, shopping convenience, etc. If the customer is insistent that price is the key to their decision, as a business owner you need to decide if their business will generate an acceptable profit, or if you should walk away. Keep in mind that if you cut your price word will spread and it will be difficult to recapture your present price level. Generally our policy is to offer specials on a limited selection for a fixed time, to generate new business. We don't cut our prices in response to isolated comments.

If you are a retailer, do invest as much as you can afford in a point of sale system, preferably a fully integrated one. A good system enhances your ability to manage your business in several ways- customer service, inventory management, and pricing to name a few.

Do gain a good handle on your business processes- purchasing, accounting, inventory control, pricing and gross margin. Marketing and customer service are critical, but increasing sales doesn't benefit the business unless those sales are generating bottom-line profits. Set realistic goals not only for sales volume, but also for average gross margin, inventory turns, shrinkage, spoilage/obsolescence, operating expenses, etc. This will refer back to the business plan George mentions above. Monitor at least quarterly, if not more frequently.

Engage people with complimentary skills in your business. If you are a marketing/customer service oriented creative person, engage a number cruncher. You'll enjoy the business more and avoid pitfalls.

Small Business Marketing Tip .... Not What You Think

Don't market! Most companies have marketing budgets but few have customer rétention budgets. Focus on what makes your company unique. Be real. Here is a snippet from a blog by Marc Reece .....

Don’t just tell me how important I am to you in your messaging, show me! If customer service is truly your number one priority, make sure that your actions match your printed word and mission statement.

Nothing shows more disrespect and gets me more fired up than listening to a recording stating how important my business is to you so please hold for the next available customer service agent.

My time is as valuable to me as my business is to you, remember that! I want you to remember that everyday you are open for business, you are open for a reason and a purpose.

That reason and purpose is me, remember that!

High Tech vs High Touch Marketing For Small Business

There's an app for high tech, not high touch

"There's an app for that."

This marketing slogan refers to a mobile app. A mobile app converts content and resources that otherwise would have been consumed through a browser on a computer desktop, to the much smaller and variably shaped screens on the many different kinds of hand-held devices. Mobile apps are proliferating because they are almost always handier and sexier than their website counterparts.

In 1998, broadband Internet connection was in less than 4% of households and almost no businesses. Reporting on this emerging capability, I made the macro prediction that the world would change when broadband Internet became ubiquitous and broadly adopted. Well, broadband ubiquity, today thy name is mobile. The proliferation of WiFi and mobile networks we know as 3G and 4G, has spawned mobile apps which are at once exciting and disruptive.

A generation before my broadband prognostication, a real prophet, John Naisbitt, published his landmark book, Megatrends, in which he prophesied, "The more high tech we have, the more high touch we will want." In the 21st century, Naisbitt's Law, balance technology and humanity, must be the North Star for any successful small business strategy.

So, how does a small business maintain a competitive advantage in the face of pressure from high tech innovation and the primordial human desire for high touch connection? The answer, as with so many 21st century questions, is not either/or, but both/and.

If you want customers to keep your business at their fingertips wherever they are, there's an app for that. If a customer relationship would benefit from a welcoming smile, there is no app for that.

If a product tutorial video posted on your YouTube channel would help a customer in the field, there's an app for that. To be able to interpret the troubled look on the face of a customer as a clue that you haven't yet healed their pain, there is no app for that.

If customers want to check the status of an order they placed with you, whenever and wherever they are, a mobile app can be built for that. If customers do business with you because you remember their face, name and what they like, there is no app for that.

Remember Naisbitt's Law: Blend and balance the power of high-tech with the humanity of high-touch.


There's an app for high tech, but there isn't one for high touch.

Top 3 Pain Points When It Comes To Marketing Your Small Business

If you have to narrow it down to three points I would suggest the following ....

1. All good marketing starts with the customer. You must have a solid understanding of the needs of your customer and how you can deliver value to them. To get to this point you need to engage in marketing research and segmentation efforts. While these are basic tenants of marketing they are tough to do well.

2. Once you have an understanding of the customer you must have an understanding of the market. The vast majority of companies never do manage to put together a market map. A market map details the relationships and values found within your market. The market map plays an important role in helping to identify market segments, positioning, and competitive presence. All of these elements need to be understood in addition to the customer knowledge noted in point one. Completion of the first two steps helps to build a situational analysis. Basically you cannot go forward until you understand where you are.

3. With an understanding of the customer and the market in place as a startup the final piece of the puzzle is your people. Understanding where you are and where you want to go is terrific but you need the right people to get there. Hiring the right people to lead your marketing efforts is a challenge that must be met in order to be successful.

Which Type Of Lead Generation Is Best For Small Business? - - Part III

There are 101 different methods of lead generation and what works for you and your business depends on the products and services you offer, your target market and sometimes personal preferences. (There's little point in cold-calling if you absolutely hate it - and let's face it most people don't like doing it and even more importantly, don't like being on the receiving end.)

Essentially, people do business with people (or businesses) they know, like and trust and that can take time to build.

They can get to know, like and trust you from meeting you face-to-face at networking meetings, seeing your expertise through articles, demonstrations, blogs, referrals and recommendations, a regular newsletter ... etc.

Leaflets, advertising, email and direct mail campaigns, free offers, events, workshops can also work. Pick half a dozen and try them out - test which ones work best and stick with those. If something doesn't work, adapt, modify or change it to see if you can improve your response rate or find something that works.

For a web designer or internet marketer - I would choose someone I know or who was recommended to me. I certainly wouldn't pick someone from the many emails I receive, on an almost daily basis, offering their services.

I've gained most of my business from networking - both online and offline. Social media has widened the opportunities and the audience but can be a slower, more long-term method.

I can recommend the Ultimate Small Business Marketing Book - by Dee Blick which has great tips for small businesses and more importantly practical examples.

Above contibution by Clare Evans

The Key Elements For Success Of A Small Business In Overseas Markets

Here's a few things to ensure are addressed if you are intending to expose your Small Business to overseas markets .....



Make sure you are versed in their customs and know the costs of start up. You should already have a business plan but if you don't I strongly suggest getting one. How will you fund the expansion into the new market? What type of entity will you operate as (LLC, Incorporation, Corp, S-corp etc). Find out the international tax rules. What will your sales forecasts be? What about initial costs and operating costs? Who will represent you over seas? All this boils down to is there are market for your business in the Asian markets. When will you be profitable? Who are your competitors? What is your marketing strategy? The answers to these questions and many more will allow you come up with your key strategies as well as contingency planning. Having a great accountant who specializes in international accounting will help tremendously as well. You may seek some legal services as well.



Spearheading a campaign into an overseas market requires an incredible amount of detail and cultural/custom/legal specific knowledge. It would also be highly beneficial to transfer someone from your management team directly ahead of your startup - that way you have a source you can rely on to negotiate on your behalf and ensure everything is prepared smoothly before you invest further ahead. They can also be responsible for sourcing local talent for succession management with an excellent background in your industry.

Using Social Media To Market Your Small Business

Especially for a small (and medium-sized) business enterprise, a good way to promote the business would be through Social Media channels. Apart from this, one needs to be well networked and have friends and contacts who can pass the word through a viral "chain".

Coming to specifics, one needs to develop a comprehensive strategy for harnessing the full capabilities of Social Media. A mere presence on Facebook and getting a large number of "Likes" for the posts doesn't really translate into actual Sales. The idea behind Social Media is primarily to {i} continuously engage with potential customers as well as "converts", {ii} provide them with timely info about services, offers, and latest updates, and {iii} have a response mechanism for queries and questions / complaints from customers and fans.

In addition to a presence on Facebook, suggest you to also explore other channels of Social Media, including Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Facebook, Twitter. Linkedin and Youtube marketing are all very powerful and the capabilities of Social Media can actually be fully tapped when you have an integrated strategy for all these channels.

I would suggest the following Social Media strategies:

1. Create a Facebook Fan Page
2. Create a Twitter account
3. Promote your business on Linkedin
4. Create an Youtube account

Now, for the things you should do:

1. Create a blog on your website and write about your items. Once done, Tweet the URL, share the URL on Facebook and on Linkedin. Encourage people to LIKE your blog post or ReTweet.

2. Make a video about your items, you can try www.animoto.com and create one for free. Once done, upload the video to Youtube and share to friends in FB and Twitter.

3. Have an ongoing promotion to attract new customers and post this on your FB fan page, Linkedin, Twitter and Youtube. You can also create another video about your promotion.

4. Suggest your fan page to all your friends and contacts on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. Don't forget to promote it on Youtube as well.

5. Constantly update your site with blog posts or helpful tips to share to your fans and friends. Provide a link back to your site at all times.

6. You can submit a press release to free press release sites to tell others what your store is about.

7.Give something out for free - may be an instructional ebook, a recipe, a free screensaver, etc. and tell people about it.

8. Constantly establish new connections through social media platforms to establish credibility.

9. Keep on making new friends and expand your network as well.

10. Update your site weekly and your social media sites daily.

11. Equally important, have a response mechanism ready in place to handle all inquiries / questions / complaints in a timely manner.

Successful Strategy For Marketing A Small Business

Simply Put .... develop a marketing plan. Here are some tips:

TASTE, TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGY

What does your research indicate is the trend in your field? Will it stay the way you are currently offering supplies and services or will it change? This item covers the developments you expect for the next few years. Evan a 'perfect' business can become obsolete overnight due to future developments. Specify a 5 year forecast of your field in your area.

SALES REVENUE FORECAST

Have you developed these targets? This section shows your estimates of future sales revenue for your business. Your strategic plan, needs to spell out the specific actions you will take to achieve your forecast sales revenues.

DIFFERENTIATE YOUR BUSINESS FROM THE COMPETITION

How does your business differ from the competition's strong and weak points. Again, remember to carefully look at your business from the customer's perspective. If you're not sure how your pricing policies compare to the competition, here are some guidelines. Most people associate high prices with high quality and extra service, while they associate low prices with low or average quality and minimum service. Make sure you provide extra quality and service if your prices are higher than your competition or make sure that your prices are lower if your quality is average and your service is minimum.

DECIDE HOW TO REACH CUSTOMERS

Once you describe your target customer, it's easier to create a list of possible ways to reach that person. One of your jobs as a businessperson is to decide which of all the possible methods of communication will give you the most exposure for the least cost in money or time.

EVALUATE THE RISKS FACING YOUR BUSINESS

COMPETITION: Most businesses have competition. How will your business differ in significant and positive ways from your competition? If your competition is strong, don't minimize that fact, but figure out ways you will adjust to or use that strength. For example, if you plan to open a restaurant next to an extremely popular one, part of your strategy might be to cater to the overflow. Another might be to open on days or evenings when the other restaurant is closed.

PIONEERING: If you anticipate no direct competition, your business probably involves selling a new product or service, or one that is new to your area. How will you avoid going broke trying to develop a market?

CYCLES AND TRENDS: Many businesses have cycles of growth and decline often based on outside factors such as taste, trends or technology. What is your forecast of the cycles and trends in your business? For example, if your forecast tells you that the new electronic product you plan to manufacture may decline in three years when the market is saturated, can you earn enough money in the meantime to make the venture worthwhile?

SLOW TIMES: Every business experiences ups and downs. Is your business small and simple enough, or capitalized adequately enough, to ride out slow times? Or do you have some other strategy, such as staying open long hours in the busy season and closing during times of the year when business is ?

OWNERS EXPERTISE: Nobody knows everything. How do you plan to compensate for the knowledge you're short on?

Write your risk analysis by first thinking of the main dangers your business faces. This shouldn't be hard, as you have probably been concerned about them for some time. Some of these may be on the list set out above; others will be unique to your business. Once you have identified the principal risks facing your business, write out a plan to counter each. But don't bog yourself down worrying about all sorts of unlikely disaster.

Tips For Small Businesses Creating A 2011 Marketing Plan

These tips may not be what you'd expect .... they are meant to help you focus, get you off your butt, and encourage thinking out of the box a bit.

* First - Be clear as to who your target market is and what you do! ..... everyone and everything is not a good answer. Go for the target and accept clients from everywhere.

* Build your database in a CRM software and keep notes

* Networking must be a large part of the plan! Both online and off

- Facebook and LinkedIn is the best way to show your expertise for free.

- Learn how to use LinkedIn to make business connections in your city.

- Write articles for your local business newspaper and /or magazine.

- Speak at local groups - prove you are an expert in what you do.

- Join local business groups and visit as many as you can afford (back to networking).

* Have a clean clear website - don't get fancy - just offer the information your prospective clients need to know to hire you.

- include testimonials

- photos of you and your bio

- Use Bullets not big blocks of text

- State your prices, terms etc

- Copy should be friendly - not stiff

* Use SBI to build your website (see the banner at the top of this page). You can get a Do-It-Yourself package if you're confident in your skills .... or they'll build a custom site for you at a very reasonable price.

* Spend time and perhaps money on SEO of the website (SBI actually already helps with this by building it into your site as it's constructed)

* Blogging is great if you like to write and you are disciplined (SBI can help with this too, or just use Blogger or WordPress) - if not just post stuff on LinkedIn and Facebook - no silly pictures on Facebook and no games. If you wouldn't want you mother to read it don't put it on the Internet

* Start an e-newsletter (hence the database)

* Read trade magazines, blogs and website of your industry and others for ideas

* Answer questions on LinkedIn Answers

* Brand your business with a Logo and use that branding everywhere!

That's a good start.

Marketing Tips For Growing A Small Business

On the marketing front, I would suggest that small business leverage the internet instead of spending large amounts of money on traditional, outbound marketing, such as radio, TV and newspapers.

A solid inbound marketing strategy will deliver more results for little or no money (you need to be smart enough to value your time). First you must make sure you have a strong web presence from a website or blog. That website needs to be optimized with the right keywords that will reach your target persona.

Then, the small busniess needs to create great content to the site that will interest that target persona. Something that their friends will want to see also. Create lots and lots of content. This too is optimized to the identified keywords.

Then promote that great content through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Facebook more for B2C and LinkedIN more for B2B.

This all takes a bit of time to establish. To get quicker results now, the second part of the equation is to convert those visitors into leads. Create offers that will be placed on your website as a call to action. Once the visitor sees the call to action and click to it, they will be taken to a landing page with a form. The offer has to be good enough to get someone to fill out the form! But once they do, it is a lead.

Your lead nurturing program that follows can be email campaigns if the visitor is not necessarily ready to buy now, or you can cal them up right away. Depends on the industry and the offer.

The third component is analyze. Have a way to analyze everything so you can make adjustments to your content, offers, calls to action, and landing pages.

In the end, you will have a very productive communication system with your current and potential clients.

Small Business Tip .... Using Facebook And Twitter Social Media Marketing

The first thing you need to do in order to be a success with any social media outlet is to define exactly what it is you are trying to do (gain sales, members, fans, whatever). Then design an approach to "solve" your issue. In doing this, you must decide on an approach that gives your target information that they are truly interested in. You must ENGAGE them in conversation. The very worst thing you can do is talk about YOURSELF, or your product, or push a sale. Engage and establish yourself as expert!

I can give you an example of what I have seen several companies do. They will hold contests on FaceBook for their current fan base, utilizing them to build the fan base..."get three of your friends to like us on FaceBook, and we will send you a gift certificate"..or something to that affect. Certainly you can see the power in this "snowball"effect of gaining friends/fans, and also the potential for additional via not only the winner of the contest, but others that have now fanned you.

Fridays Restaurant chain did a promo recently where they sent every person who fanned their site a free burger. While this probably cost the company some cash, how many people go to Fridays and get just that hamburger? I would bet a large percentage also buy a cocktail...or fries..or whatever. Clearly this is a measurable promo,also!

Too many companies take a "set it and forget it" approach which does not work wtih Social Media. My Mother always taught me that there is no such thing as free in this world. Social media appears to be free, but it is not. It takes time and effort to be successful with Social Media marketing, just like it does with any marketing endeavor.