Postage stamp rate increases one cent on Monday

Effective on Monday, the stamps are going to increase one cent. What does this mean for the business? Typically small to medium sized businesses.

There are still plenty of businesses that do direct mail marketing. While one penny does not seem a lot, those that are mailing 100s of thousands of pieces per month will see it gradually dig into their bottom line. This is potentially dangerous for those involved in that process. From the designer to the list provider, the printer and even the mailing house.

There is a concern on the print end of it. Will more people move back to a typical 4x6 postcard rather than the half page postcard or the jumbo sized postcard? There was a push towards larger sized postcards to make an impact but as the price of postage increases the desire to spend more decreases.

It was just a year ago when the stamp was increased. Does this mean there will be a trend for the postal service to increase each year? Lets hope that this is it for at least 2 years.

See what the current rates will as of Monday, May 12th, 2008.

Thanks Joe - Mystere was amazing!

There are many benefits to attending PubCon, which is where I have been at since Monday night, but the one on Tuesday night was complimentary tix to see Mystere at Treasure Island. Joe Morin hooked us up and a bunch of us bloggers attended the many shows of vegas. Myself and my new found best friend Shari of ExtremeHalloween.com attended Mystere. It was my first time at this show but have attended 2 other cirque shows.

This show was amazing. The music was fantastic and unique. The costumes were outrageous and out there. The acrobatics always fascinate me and I'm always hanging on the edge of my seat and scared for them that they will fall. I love the swings and when they hang down from the lines and twirls and spin. The specialty of this show was the climbing. IMHO anyway. Each show has something unique. This one was crawling on the walls and up end down the poles. Just fascinating how limber and disciplined and how damn strong they all are. Then there were the 2 guys. that just did things I never thought possible. I cant even describe it so here is a photo.


talk about perfection. You should have seen the entire show. The thing about any cirque show is that its visual overload because there are so many things going on, the costumes and colors and the theater design. Its so hard to catch everything because you may be focused on the main show but then off in the ceiling something is beginning to happen. Then there is the comedy feature of the show. This time it was the baby which was just hilarious. They always have a comedy thrown in and always amusing. They usually start that segment around 15 min or so before the show time, that's why is good to get there early.

It was a fantastic night. I look forward to seeing Ka next year when I'm here for the conference.

Another thought though, as I was enjoying the show, I couldn't help but think about business. Mainly because that's how my mind works. This show, is a prime example of everyone working in unison. When they were doing the seesaw segment, everyone had their job to do, if one person faltered then someone would either get seriously injured or the show would have a flaw of a mistake, which I have yet to witness. I just couldn't help but think that that is how a business is to be run. Everyone has their task/specialty/job to do and if one person drops the ball then the company as a whole pays for it.

This is especially true when dealing with SEO, SEM and PPC. If you are not on top of it all then your site takes a hit, unfortunately not in a good way. All the new tools, tricks and people that I've met this week, have really helps me discover new ways to make sure that the ball isn't dropped. I'm anxious to reread my notes and start planning way to implement the new ideas and products to the arsenal that I've already developed.

What is in a brand?

Lately, the increase in small business owners coming to us to help establish a brand has been amazing. These days, small business owners are trying to figure out who they are and how they can become more established with the local community.

When it comes to the service industry, its more work to establish a brand or name for yourself. You have to prove yourself, show that you have the background and years in the field. Still the common mistake made is by describing what you can do, INSTEAD of describing how you can help make the prospect's life better by using your services.

Branding is not all about colors or the logo/mascot. It's about your message. What makes you unique from the mass of competitors? How can you show that being a small company is a benefit not a draw back? These are questions that should be answered while establishing a branding for your business. If you can have a tag line that is 7 words or less and doesn't leave the prospect confused of what you offer then you have done a good job.

How do you present your branding? The first thing that is given is normally a full color business card. That is the first impression of your brand other than yourself. Yes, you are your brand. Present yourself as such. Make sure that your business card clearly states your tagline, your website, and of course 3 bullet points to how you can help them. That way, even after you leave, they will still know what you do.

These simple questions will help you determine the brand for your small business.

Optimized Design for your Web Site

What exactly is optimized design you ask?

It works directly with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or the Search engine marketing of your web site. Optimized design of your web site takes into consideration all the factors needed for successful optimization of your web site.

• User experience - Making sure the navigation of your site is easy for the end-user. Providing ease of use of your web site, allowing the viewer to find what they are looking for easily and quickly.
• Graphic Design - Creating an eye-catching and compelling design that directly relates to your brand.
• Optimization - Impletmenting the design while also making the web site search engine friendly by utilizing the best practices in web site programming. By implementing the best keywords and phrases through rigorous analysis of your competitors and industry.

While its great to have a site that looks great, in todays every growing web, you must realize that the basis of a web site is to attract new customers. Let us help you create a web presence which brings results with effective OPTIMIZED design that will help your bottomline.

Free Webinar/ Teleseminar Topic: How to get FOUND in the infinite internet – a bare bones basics approach to Website Marketing

JOIN US...TODAY! Bring your internet marketing questions and we'll tackle them on at our FREE Telseminar!!!

Dear Amanda,

I have made too-many-to-count mistakes when it comes to on-line marketing. A website can be a powerful tool for growing your business...IF you can make your way around the wierd concepts: html, SEO, blogging, auto-responders, and - gasp! - SPAM? What do those things MEAN? This Teleseminar will help you get savvy FAST so that you can use the internet to BOOM your business!

Join me for this month's HOT HOT HOT Teleseminar Topic: How to get FOUND in the infinite internet - a bare bones basics approach to Website Marketing

My Guest Star - Amanda Stewart of www.6thsensedesign.com

Amanda has helped me get a grip on expanding my internet business and can help you learn the bare bones basics!

The Teleseminar Date is TODAY, Tuesday, August, 21st at 1:00 pm Pacific Time 2:00 pm Mountain Time 3:00 pm Central Time 4:00 pm Eastern Time

And...GREAT NEWS. I have made the sign up process for this FREE Teleseminar soooo much easier. Just click here for the sign up form.

http://www.barebonesbiz.com/teleconference_series.html

"See" you at the Teleseminar!

Thanks, Ellen Rohr, Bare Bones Biz

Tradeshows - Top 5 tips for a successful tradeshow

Tradeshows can prove to be profitable if you are prepared. Its a time when you are continuing your brand and putting together a plan to help lure more people to your booth. Its a long process but it can prove to be quite rewarding once completed. Its another aspect of marketing your business. How you conduct yourself at the booth, the different freebies that you offer and even your placement of where you stand to greet people are all factors in a successful tradeshow.

1. When picking giveaways make sure its something that can display not only your logo but also a phone number. Most promo companies are very knowledgable about what is popular and what is best for your prospects. Consult with them.
2. When designing a banner, make sure you have your logo visibly displayed. Its best to bullet point what you offer so when someone is walking by, its quick for them to read.
3. Have a raffle. This will allow you to collect business cards. Make sure you spend atleast $100 and be creative. Don't offer a common gift basket or your shirts. Make sure its something that everyone will go "Oh wow, I want to win that". You must also keep in mind that it travels well since most people will go home via plane.
4. Where comfortable shoes! You will be standing the entire time. You should be in front of the booth greeting people as they walk by. Do not ever be behind the booth.
5. Always smile.
   

If you have never done a booth, following these 5 simple steps will help you have a successful tradeshow. Should you ever need any full color printing for your tradeshow or promo items. Please give us a call 888-774-6861. We are experts at exposing our clients with online and offline marketing.

Great FREE business tools

In our ever growing quest to help small business owners, we want to share a few great FREE tools. We hope this helps with growing your business.

1. Free Web Conferencing - Have you ever needed to set up a conference call and realized that 3 way calling through your local provider just wasn't cutting it! Try www.freeconferencecall.com. It allows you to setup a conference line for your clients to call into. You can hear everyone fine and best of all its free.
2. Free Faxes - Through jconnect, you can receive faxes through your email in a .tif format. You receive a free phone number (local numbers cost money) and anyone can fax documents to that number and it comes to you in an email. Fantastic. Technology at its best. Try jconnect!
3. Sending Large Files - Have you ever needed to send a large file but under a time crunch where sending a cd just wouldn't work? Yousendit is a great online tool that doesn't require special software to send up to 1gig files. Signup is free. Its a great tool and no FTP software or knowledge is required. Try yousendit.
   

Other tools that will help your business, is our U-Manage tool. U-Manage is a web site management tool that will allow you to make changes to your web site without any coding/HTML knowledge. Through our web interface admin panel, you can make all the changes to your web site over the web. Contact us today to learn how to manage your site more effectively.

Call Us Today
TOLL FREE 866-673-6733

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Hot new site up

After about 6 months of production, we've finally released a hot new site. www.sandybythesea.com

Its a florida vacation rentals web site. It has every feature we offer and then some. We implemented our shopping cart to book the rentals, the web site management tool for the client to edit the site herself and also a booking calendar that allows her to blackout rental days and for anyone to book to be able to select the dates they want to stay and it calculates it and adds to the shopping cart. The client is looking to take the site to phase 2 where we allow anyone to post their rental on the site like www.rentalo.com. Very soon we'll also start the SEO of the site to help get her above her competition. She's renevated everything and so I may just try to get a place on the water for a weekend. Even has a yacht. Ships ahoy!

I'm very excited to have a site that includes all of our greatest programs. Stay tuned for more great releases. You too can have a site like this. Its a great feeling to have a site that not only looks good but has a purpose and bringing you money.

Going Global... search engine optimization helps you get there

Going global? Have you ever thought about taking your business global? Its a scary thought but as I am a thrill seeker, I look for those scary thoughts to get out of the comfort zone.

When I decided to take on a new arm for my marketing company, I knew it was going to be a lot of work. It was and still is. I knew that search engine optimization was a must have in my arsenal of services. SEO is now becoming a must have for all businesses. Because I have decided to offer this service. I know attend more conferences, read more articles and have the need to update our site and marketing materials. The end result of web site optimization though is amazing. If you really think about it, there is no end result; its always continuing to the next level. It is what helps you go global. I had a client that was a local builder, they never even thought about the benefits and the people they can reach through SEO. Even if your business is in one county or one state doesn't mean that other businesses or consumers won't be looking for you in their state. Maybe they are looking to move, start another location, or even attend a conference. Its all relevant to search engine marketing and your web site.

Global is big and scary but its an opportunity for growth and increasing your income. That's what all of us strive for. Why not have your site working for you when you are sleeping, when you are on vacation or on the weekends when you are spending time with your family...

We can help you with your fears and turn them into dollar signs. We love roller coasters and will be there right there with you with our hands up in the air screaming, THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!!!

Call us today for the best ride of your life... 866-673-6733