Trends are like a pendulum. They swing this way for a time, and then momentum swings them the other direction. The backbone of America has been working very hard, and financially, many haven’t really reaped the rewards they’d hoped. So you get some burnout, and some casual conversation makes it all better. Pretty soon businesses catch on that they should have a presence where the people are. And they’re online BIG TIME. Cell phones, iPads – now you can Twitter from your television set.

Now trending  says if we’re not casually talking about various subjects online, people won’t know us enough to trust us or buy from us. So if you’re hard-working and don’t have time to impress people that probably don’t have any connection with you or your company, you won’t be a viable business?

Who else is calling that malarky? (Well, we are – so join the club.)

You have a viable business, and you’re WORKING at it. You need to know how to let people know you – without wasting your valuable and precious time. Learn about your customer so you can continue to produce what they will buy. Trends will change again, and when they do, don’t be at the mercy of those who went on before you.  Learn how to affect those trends – NOT the other way around.

Look, there are smart ways to go about it, but the goals have to be positive for your business.

Download our free reference guide, The Very Best Way To Use Twitter For Local Business today, and find out what you’re missing.

There are many article submission sites out there, believe me – I’ve gone through several. What I love about EzineArticles.com can’t be said in one sentence.
If you don’t know what you’re doing, their tutorials will develop your skill, and if you do know what you’re doing, well…you’ve probably already been using the site. If you’re a lousy scammer/spammer using unhealthy tactics, they will toss you out on your ear. It’s nice to know that when your article has been approved, you won’t be mistaken for that. Here are a few of the reasons you should take 30 minutes to build your author profile on this particular submission site and establish credible articles surrounding the niche you’ve chosen to tackle.

• All articles are available for reprint with your personal bio box attached with it.
• Your bio box includes your business information and links back to your Web site.
• You can take advantage of keywords they provide based on your content, or you can add your own to increase visibility.
• If you have a basic knowledge of HTML, you can refine your article format.
• If you don’t have any knowledge of HTML, you can write in the ‘what you see is what you get’ editor – or WYSIWYG
• When you sign up for their newsletter, they hand serve you ideas for article submissions right through your inbox.
• At every stage of your article submission, you are given advice and guidance to improve your article before it goes through approval and goes live.

The link strategy here is especially helpful if you take the time to research the keywords that your readers will be using when they look for information you divulge. Your article will be required to fit into a category and if possible, a sub-category. When you’re careful to use appropriate keywords in your category, title, teaser summary, and headers, your articles will be found when someone Google’s those terms. Remember to write for a human first, and a spider last. Don’t assume the words by themselves do ANYTHING, they don’t. Good writing incorporates keywords naturally, and thereby causes a reader to want to read your information. That practice will cause search engine spiders to notice the correlation between the words that are typed into search by a searcher, and the words used in your article.

Once your article is approved it goes live immediately. Make sure you promote it by:

• Using a URL shortener like bitly.com, or an owly link from Hootsuite, and post the article’s URL on Twitter.
• Post to Facebook with a short reason why your article should be read.
• Link to it on your MerchantCircle blog or newsletter.
• Write a blog post for your Web site and refer to your article.
• Write several related articles and set them up in a Squidoo lens surrounding that topic.

Have fun developing this skill. It will benefit you greatly over the years. The more articles you have in the directory you’ll be building for yourself, the better your links will get. Naturally, the longer your articles are live, more eyes will have a chance to review them. Meanwhile, you benefit from the link in the bio box back to your Web site.

Learning is like rowing upstream:  not to advance is to drop back.  ~Chinese Proverb

Today’s 30-minute tip is to invest in your business growth by scheduling time to learn. Don’t just leave it to chance. Add it to your daily or at least your weekly schedule and treat it like you would an important appointment with a customer. Make the time for it.

Here are three free marketing magazines that we recommend and that regularly arrive in our mailbox. One deals exclusively with running a website, another with selling products online, and the third with all forms of direct response marketing. There’s no cost to you if you subscribe to these publications through any of the links below.

Website Magazine deals exclusively with the business of running a website. Each issue is chock full of practical advice and insights for website owners.

Internet Retailer is another great source of information on e-business strategies for retailers and direct merchants. The magazine also covers exclusive reports on the competitive, marketing and operational trends in e-retailing. If you are a store-based retailer, a cataloger, a virtual merchant or an e-business provider, Internet Retailer provides the information you need to make the most of your use of the internet as a retail sales channel, multi-channel integrator or a tool for supply-chain automation.

Target Marketing covers all direct response media, including direct mail, telemarketing, space advertising, the Web and direct response TV. Readers get insight into such subjects as using databases and lists effectively, acquiring new customers, upselling and cross-selling existing customers, fulfillment strategies and more.

It’s simple, human nature to read something, think “I’ve got to try that,” and promptly forget it. Most of us exist in a perpetual state of information overload. We pick up a trade journal, read a really great article, then go onto the next. Or we scan our Google Reader account for interesting blog posts, and read them one right after the other. Closer to home, you’re reading each of our 30-minute action tips for marketing your small business. It comes out twice each week (usually), but are you reading, then moving quickly to the next thing?

I’m making a conscious effort to find and record a take-away from each article I read, in my business journal. Sometimes it’s a topic or title for a future article, other times it’s a reminder to complete a task, such as “re-categorize EMM (my shorthand for this blog).”

If you’re like me, inspiration and ideas hit at the oddest times … when I’m busy on another project, out for a walk or driving around town on errands, in the shower, just waking up, etc. If I don’t write down those ideas as they come to me, they evaporate, so I keep a small notebook and a pencil with me at all times … well, most of the time, anyway.

But I want all my business ideas in one place, so as soon as I have the opportunity, those notes get moved over to my business journal. Now if I don’t have the time, energy, or money to get started right away, at least I have the idea or tiny little gem of an idea tucked away where I can find it again. A business journal keeps all those great ideas from evaporating.

I’ve heard that the average person has at least one million-dollar idea in their lifetime. It may come to you in bits and pieces, be inspired from a variety of sources, and like a fine wine, require time to ferment. Began capturing those gems now in your journal. You won’t regret it.

Do you keep a business journal?

Today’s post is by Gerald Voigt, my husband and business partner. He blogs regularly about business and marketing at Zero To Sixty Marketing and covers scale modeling at Hawkeye’s Squawkbox.

We all learn differently, but one thing we all have in common is the ability to learn by rote – that is, through repetition. Practice makes perfect.

Here’s a simple, but effective formula to gain working knowledge on just about any business task or topic, from copywriting to Web design to social media marketing and beyond. I call this the Triple One Method:

Watch One. Watch someone perform a task or procedure. Here’s one reason online video has taken off. Rather than simply reading about it, we can watch the task being performed. Of course, if that video is backed up with something in writing, you can watch and read, which provides you with another learning channel.

Do One. You’ve been shown how; now it’s time to do it yourself. At first, you’ll probably need some help. Make sure you have someone to turn to with questions and to review your work. Encouragement from a mentor that the job was well done, as well as constructive criticism, will help you to gain proficiency.

Teach One. Teach someone the task. This step helps you not only affirm what you were taught and have practiced, it also helps you build confidence in your abilities.

I’ve found that this systematic approach to learning helps me to more quickly make use of what I’ve learned, and provides me with greater retention of the topic. From the other end of the spectrum, it’s also an effective way to get your point across in a teaching environment.

Photo Credit: pavaranda on Stock.xchng

Let’s skip the “should they be there” question and consider the FACT that journalists are already there. Does that worry you a little? Or open your mind to a few interesting possibilities?

I was made aware of this article via Friendfeed, an application that at first glance is overwhelming … a clear case of information overload. Ok, it was the same at second and third glance too. But thanks to Ed Dale of Thirty Day Challenge fame, I’m beginning to find my way around and finding that Friendfeed may have enormous potential as a market research and tracking tool, as well as be a convenient way to disseminate information.

Let’s face it, social media is rapidly changing the way we communicate with our market and opening new avenues for public relations. The traditional press release is still alive and well, but the way it’s distributed is changing. The information it contains is evolving. The smart small business owner will take note of these trends and consider the implications for his business.

Do you devote a portion of your week to learning about technologies, applications, or ideas that could improve how you share your message and market your business?

It’s nearly Spring in Wisconsin. After a long, cold winter with record breaking snowfall, it feels so good to get outdoors without bundling up head-to-toe! Oh, who am I kidding? Skip the bundling up part … I hibernate when it’s bone-chilling cold.

The very thought of stepping outside when it’s below 20 degrees makes me want to put on a sweater and pour myself a hot chocolate.

It’s the thought that holds me back though, not really the cold. Our thoughts and perceptions always lead the way. Have you ever noticed that you can get more done when you’re really busy and you HAVE to meet a deadline, than when you’ve got just a few projects and less urgency to complete them?

For instance, I’ve found that I really CAN write in this blog nearly every day, regardless of my workload. Last year, I thought I had to make a choice and of course, I chose to finish client work over blogging. The thought (belief) that I couldn’t do both held me back, not the actual client work. And I’m here to tell you that daily blogging is a growth experience in so many ways!

When you really believe you can do something, you generally can. What’s holding you back?

Photo Credit: wokka

When I look back through my journals, it’s clear to see the times of intense personal growth … nearly daily entries with lots of questions and lots of answers. The same holds true for any type of writing, whether it’s marketing copywriting, ghost writing, or creative writing. The more you write, the more you learn about your topic.

Does this hold true for all learning types? I have no idea. I’m a visual, kinesthetic learner so I learn best by seeing and doing. That kinesthetic part is what holds the key. It’s more than just “doing.” It has to do with being in motion. More often than not, the ideas flow more freely when I’m moving around. Recording those ideas on paper or the screen helps commit them to memory.

So what have I learned lately? Simply this:

• Writing about balancing work with the rest of life has helped me to find a better balance.

• Sharing personal beliefs about God with an acquaintance is worth the risk and can result in friendship.

• The exercise of writing with much greater frequency has helped me to develop ideas into written articles much faster.

• “Pestering” my clients results in more business for all of us. Thank you, Bill.

• Write first, before checking email or getting involved in any other business activities. Even if it’s just a few lines or a few paragraphs, always write first.

Talk back to me. What have you learned lately? What type of a learner are you – visual, auditory, kinesthetic? Was writing part of your learning process?

Photo Credit: Lost In Scotland

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Imagination Key to Small Business Success
Strange But True
3 Important Questions to Ask Before You Start Writing
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