Small business owners wear many hats. They have to be chief company officers, project managers, lead generators and much more. When budgets are tight, it can be hard to find the money to hire a quality copywriter. And if you’re going to promote your business, you need good copywriting. Many small businesses just slap some copy into an ad or brochure and call it good. But with the right copy, you can garner a lot more attention and sales for your business. And that’s where Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps by Susan Gunelius comes in. Step-by-step, Gunelius shows you how to build good copy. She gives solid examples, showing the difference between mediocre and great writing. In each section she gives a fictional company case study... [Read more]

If you sell a product in retail stores, then your packaging is a large part of your marketing. How you present your product to potential customers is extremely important. You want your first impression to be favorable. And the last thing you want to do is offend your potential customers. Which is why, when I went to our local warehouse store, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a package for neck cream. In big letters — a font you could see from several feet away — was the product’s catch phrase: Got turkey neck? I was flabbergasted. I had to wonder what customer would actually buy the product. No woman I know would be caught anywhere near a product with that on it. If a woman is vain enough to want cream for any neck waddle... [Read more]

I didn’t want to leave out a few posts that I came across recently, so I’m going ahead and posting these for you, even though they’re later in the day than normal. There was a lot of conversation over the weekend about the BlogWorld Expo, with some good information coming out of that. Try searching #bwe09 on Twitter if you missed it. 3 Ways for Businesses to Take Full Advantage of Facebook Here’s a great listing of three different ways you can use Facebook for your business. John gives some good ideas on how to make the best of your Facebook experience. Internet Marketing for Smart People I don’t link a lot of e-courses, even though there are tons out there. But when a free offering comes from someone with a good... [Read more]

Once again there was quite a social media firestorm over the weekend as a woman’s story about her TSA (Transportation Security Administration) run-in went viral. The woman claimed that TSA authorities in Atlanta had taken her son from her sight during screening after something setting off the metal detectors. The story spread all over Twitter and other parts of the web as concerned people retweeted the original story. Who wants to be separated from their child at the airport, confined to a security area? It hit an emotional nerve, especially with parents across the web. Concerned about potential public relations damage, the TSA blog posted a video showing footage from the woman’s screening. And suddenly, the story makes a decided... [Read more]

If you are your brand – and for many small businesses, the owners are – your actions affect your brand. And it can be hard for your customers to separate the two. I’m not all that into building a personal brand, but I realize that as a writer I almost have to. So what I write on the web, whether personally or professionally, follows me around. And what you do follows you, too. And that means you need to think about what you post on Facebook. And Twitter. And on your personal and business sites or blogs. And in comments on other people’s sites. When you use the same identity all over the place, people start to know you. Recognize your name. Your brand. If you become somewhat “internet famous” then it’s... [Read more]