|
|
Author: Linda Musgrove, TradeShow Teacher
Your company is growing and you think you are ready to start marketing through trade shows. How do you find the right trade shows?
Exhibiting at trade shows takes time and money, so it is important than ever to find the right, targeted shows to exhibit at. There are many options to find trade shows and today we will discuss the best ways to find the shows that will improve your ROI. Be sure to understand who your key prospects are and what their needs are. Spend any time you need to really, and I mean really, nail this. The more detail, the better. In the end, this preparation will save you considerable time during your search for a show that fits your needs!
Start your trade show search by asking a few questions. What is the purpose of exhibiting? What you are trying to achieve? Make sure you have well considered answers to the following questions:
- Which initial goal or goals are most important to you? Examples are new business (leads), maintaining business relationships, creating industry exposure, meeting media contacts, etc.
- What key industries should you exhibit in?- What show types should you exhibit in?
- Who are the key prospects in each industry?
- Which shows are your competitors exhibiting at?
Once you answer these questions, you are ready to start searching for the most targeted shows that will deliver the best results. Here are a couple of search options I use when researching shows for my clients:
Trade Show Search Engines
The various trade show search engine sites are the trade show equivalent to traditional search engine sites such as Google. Each site will vary in the search options offered, but most provide you with the ability to define specific details such as industry, month, city, state, country, or give you the ability to search for information on a specific show. Here are a few popular trade show search engines:
- http://www.tsnn.com
- http://www.eventseye.com
- http://www.thetradeshowcalendar.com
Traditional Search Engines
Since all trade show search engines rely on show producers adding their shows or staff researching specific show opportunities, you will find that results and information vary considerably depending on the site and, of course, none of those sites will cover all trade shows.
Standard search engines, such as Google, Live and Yahoo! are good tools to supplement your show search efforts. Enter “Trade Show” and keywords for the industry you want to exhibit in, plus maybe city and state. The results will usually list multiple pages with show opportunities you may have otherwise missed. Play a little with keyword search variations for best results.
Industry Publications
Industry publications are also a good resource for finding shows. Many will list industry-wide trade shows or at least the shows they produce themselves. Visit the sites of large media corporations that publish industry publications. They often produce several industry shows per year. Editorial Calendars for large media corporations will commonly list shows as well. And, of course, take advantage of the show list Exhibit City News publishes monthly.
Industry Associations
Industry associations tend to organize at least one annual National or International show and, frequently, regional events. You can find listings on their web site’s event page. You can also find regional show listings by visiting event pages on the association’s regional chapter sites. Many industry associations also have sub groups that have their own web sites, do not just limit your search to the umbrella organization.
Convention Centers and Visitors Bureaus
You can find listings of shows within particular cities on web sites of convention centers and visitor bureaus. Besides the trade show calendars, you benefit from additional resources available on these sites, particularly once you have selected a show. You will find practical information about the show facility and the city’s attractions, including great places to take prospects and current customers to dinner or hold small events.
Newswire Websites
A few newswire companies offer trade show listings on their website. A good example is Business Wire®. When you visit their website, click on trade shows and events, where you will find show details listed by month, or sorted by industry. If you click on the news link on the right hand side, you will find additional show details, including exhibitor press releases for that show and a link to the show website.
Chambers of Commerce
Chambers of Commerce commonly offer tabletop expos for their members to exhibit. Chambers typically announce their show information at Chamber events, through announcements and flyers, in monthly newsletters, and on their website. Remember though that most show attendees are other Chamber members not exhibiting, surrounding community and local businesses. Occasionally several local chambers collaborate to organize somewhat more regional events.
Competitors
Here is a search method often overlooked. Check out the web sites of your competitors. Often they list the shows they will be exhibiting at.
OK, that is your lesson for now; it is time for your homework!
Home Work
- Prepare a master list of potential shows to exhibit at by using the search options in this month’s lesson; organize the show details in a spreadsheet.
- Review the shows in the spreadsheet and determine which shows are the best targeted.
- Keep the master list of shows and create a new spreadsheet for the shows you feel are best targeted to your needs.
Note: By keeping the master list, you can refer to it next time you are searching for shows. You may find some of the shows fit your business needs at that time.
Author: Jim Personius, SmallBiz123.com
In tough economic times, small business owners look for new, creative ways to maintain or increase sales. Naturally, their thoughts turn to discounts and incentives.
Unless you are a discounter, try to avoid abnormal discounting. Discounting can lead to permanent erosion of your pricing power by training customers to expect discounts. This can lead customers to conclude that:
1 – you were ripping them off before at higher price points and/or
2 – you are ripping them off when the discounts are gone.
Try to avoid undermining your value proposition. Discounting places greater emphasis on price at the expense of other benefits, features, services, and value that you provide.
We recommend “act now” incentives to encourage buying decisions. For instance, buy now and throw in some free extra service (be sure to assign full value to it). For example, buy a piano now and get ten free lessons free, a $500 value. Make the offer expire soon (this weekend only). In this case, your piano price is not discounted, but the customer gets extra/higher perceived value for the price.
Next, try to get customers to buy more now than they would otherwise have bought. For example, if your typical sale is $5000, then offer some incentive for customers to commit to a $10,000 purchase. That can be a special price incentive, extra service, or additional product that is not available at the standard $5000 sale. People understand that they should get more now when they spend more now.
Premiums also work very well, as anyone who ever walked through the cosmetic section of a department store knows. They are famous for giving away a $3 bag (with a perceived value of $25) with a $50 purchase. Effective premium programs can be structured for just about any industry and price point. The formula is simple. Set a minimum purchase price just a bit higher than the average sale and offer a free bonus with a high-perceived value. And, set another minimum purchase price at the upper range of typical sales with an even better free bonus. Many customers will increase their purchases 10-30% to gain the free bonus item.
We do not recommend this if cash flow is an issue for your business, but a very effective incentive is to offer improved payment terms. For example, you can offer 90-day terms instead of 30 or 30 days instead of COD. Do not allow yourself to get extended into a risky spot. Factoring or finance companies can help you with this if it becomes something you want to consider.
Author: Jim Personius, SmallBiz123.com
As the year winds down, perhaps you are thinking of showing your appreciation to your employees. Maybe you have thought of a cash gift, gift card, holiday event, or some other gift for your employees.
Appreciation is always a nice thought. But, you are an astute small business owner and you want your gift to work hard for you—you want the most bang for your buck.
So, first, you want to ask yourself what you want to accomplish with your generosity? Do you want to express appreciation alone? Or, do you want to build loyalty and a sense of belonging? Do you want to build teamwork and better relationships across employees? Do you want to treat everyone equally? Or, do you want to reward some employees with more? Are all gift ideas the same and do they all deliver the same results? Of course not.
As a quick aside, the best appreciation programs with the most credibility and effectiveness take place on a year-round basis. They generally focus on milestone accomplishments, birthdays, company anniversaries, and the like. However, the holidays are close and we will focus on the end of the year in this article.
If you ask employees what they want, they always vote for cash or gift cards. Obviously, employees value cash and it offers the greatest degree of flexibility for the employee. However, cash can be expensive to give. There are tax consequences. For example, if you give employees an extra $100, after payroll taxes and federal and state withholding, they are going to get checks for odd amounts like $72.13. With social security matching, your $107.50 is only delivering $72 of impact. Or, if you gross up the amount to make sure that each employee gets a check for $100, you are going to have to pay around $130. Either way, a huge percentage of your appreciation gift budget will go to the government. On behalf of Barack Obama, I thank you. Unfortunately, the government will not appreciate your generosity and will not work harder or better for you after your kind gift.
Gift cards can have the same tax consequences as cash. However, you might get a break from certain merchants by buying in volume. For example, you might get $125 in gift cards for every $100 you spend. It pays to shop around among merchants, restaurants, credit-card branded gift cards, and grocery stores to get the best deal on the most useful gift for your employees.
Be sure to talk to your tax advisor about the costs and implications of any appreciation program so that you understand your requirements and liabilities.
While cash and gift cards require little effort. Unfortunately, they deliver little in the way of lasting impact. The benefit of cash gifts is very short term. The check gets deposited and spent or forgotten. The small business employer gets very little, if any, brownie points or lasting appreciation from the employee. In fact, employees quit at a greater rate after receiving bonuses than at any other time.
A holiday party or event is a great way to build a sense of team and build stronger relationships in a non-work environment. A good party makes everyone feel better after a good time together. The benefit of better relationships can last years and increase productivity. However, you need to do a lot of planning and research to hold a successful event. Evaluate the make-up of your employee base. Can everyone attend your event? Do people have to travel to attend? Do you have issues with childcare, transportation, schedule conflicts, menus, etc.? Can you make spouses and significant others feel welcome? Can a family event work for you? It is very hard to please everyone with a function outside of work hours. Just a couple of complainers can affect the event for everyone.
A holiday party or event will not have the same payroll and withholding consequences as cash or gift cards. However, your entertainment business deduction may be limited. Once again, consult your tax advisor.
What is the number one reason good employees quit? They think they never got anything or any appreciation from the employer. Forget the fact that they got paychecks, insurance, vacation, bonuses, retirement plans, and other benefits while employed. Those are expected entitlements these days. It is the logo products, the special team-building functions, the holiday turkey, the gift basket delivered to the spouse at the house, and the birthday remembrance that make the lasting impact and impression. These are all gifts that require a degree of thought and planning. Perhaps you want to give all of your employees some polo shirts or dress shirts embroidered with your company logo. These build a sense of team and belonging. They also save your employees money that would otherwise go to work wardrobe. And, if they wear your logo outside of work, they are showing their pride and doing a little advertising for you. Perhaps you want to think about other high-end logo-product gift ideas? You might want to consider blankets, jackets, sporting goods, coolers, barbeques, watches, MP3s or other electronics, gift baskets, luggage and travel items, or similar. Many of these items will come from your marketing and promotions budget, but, consult your tax advisor.
So, think about your goals. How was your year? What can you afford? You probably want to express appreciation and gratitude to your employees. You also want to build some long-term loyalty and appreciation on their part. You want to build a sense of team and identity and belonging to something good and important. You want to enhance morale and improve productivity. You also want people to work together better and serve customers with enthusiasm and pride.
Many people are glad just to have a job right now. You have an opportunity to set yourself apart and build loyalty for the long run. Do it right.
Author: Jim Personius, SmallBiz123.com
The real estate sector is in depression in many areas of the country. Houses glut the market, prices are falling, and many real estate agents have left the business. Yet, times of crisis and desperation create opportunities. Some agents and brokers are doing very well—significantly increasing their incomes. A depressed state of mind in competitors combined with lesser competition is opening the door to those with commitment, drive, and a plan. Even better, these agents are growing without the need for any significant investments—just a couple hundred bucks at most. Furthermore, these agents are positioning themselves to dominate their local markets when the upswing comes!
 |
Revealing the Secret to Dominating the Residential Real Estate Market in the Current Economy. |
How are these agents able to increase their incomes five-fold and more—and in today’s tough market? Is it really true? Yes, it is! Yes, you can do it! No, it does not take much money.
First, bookmark this page. We recommend that you print this article now, laminate it, and keep it in plain sight at your desk. Even better, carry it with you everywhere.
The steps are easy to understand and easy to follow. Make them a habit and the centerpiece of your marketing efforts. The rewards will follow.
Step 1: Understanding the Importance of Differentiation
The first step is to understand the importance of differentiation. Author and business consultant Jim Personius defines differentiation as:
“Differentiation: The active promotion of one’s uniqueness to create a distinct, better identity from competitors to create advantageous separation in the marketplace.”
What does that mean? You must position yourself, and be seen by your customers, as being different and better from other real estate agents.
Maybe more than in any other industry, customers tend to think all real estate agents are basically the same. That is why personal networks are so important—people call agents who they know with little shopping around. That is why discount brokers (MLS only services) are so popular—people do not see the value of agents work and figure to save the “fat” commission. Anecdotally, customers believe all real estate agents say the same things and will say anything to get the business. That is why, anecdotally, people think that 80% of real estate agents claim to be in the top 1%. That is why people believe the only sales tool in the agent’s portfolio is cutting the price after signing the listing.
It is very hard to be unique, when everyone says the same things. Real estate is a real copycat industry. But, that just means that differentiation is difficult, not impossible. And, when you can successfully differentiate yourself, the reward is even larger.
Step 2: Understanding Short-term Differentiation and Long-Term Differentiation
As a real estate agent, you need income today. You also need to build a pipeline of future income. In short, you need to be a hunter today and a farmer for the future. This is the key to increasing your income by five times or more.
That means that you need to execute simultaneously two strategies for growth: a short-term strategy and a long-term strategy. These strategies will run side by side to bring you income in the short term and plant the seeds for future income. Both of these strategies will separate you from your competition (differentiation!) and increase your income.
Step 3: Understanding 2 Key Facts and 1 Inevitable Trend
When you base your marketing strategy on proven facts and trends, you greatly increase the probability of your success. With proper execution, you can increase your income five-fold or more!
Key Fact 1
65% of all home sales are due in part to the front yard FOR-SALE sign.
That means that most buyers are local and have connections to the neighborhood.
Source: CHIMPP Relight, Inc.
This is powerful and important: “most buyers are local and have connections to the neighborhood.” In addition, this means that signs sell houses.
You need to be asking yourself, right now:
- How can I increase my presence and improve my connections in my targeted neighborhoods?
- How can I make my sign work harder for me—to sell houses and to bring new listings?
Key Fact 2
Approximately 60% of buyers and sellers call only one broker.
Approximately 80% of buyers and sellers never call a third broker.
You want to be called first.
Source: Real Estate Rainmaker by Dan Gooder Richard. John Wiley & Sons, 2000.
The implication: people shop around for the house, not the real estate agent. You want to be first so that you can get the business.
You should be asking yourself, right now:
- How can I be the first agent that prospects call today?
- How can I position myself so that prospects call me first over the long term?
Bonus Fact for the Current Economy
More US houses are for sale now than ever before. There are more Expired Listings and For Sale By Owner (FSBO) houses on the market now than ever before.
The implication is that there are plenty of hunting opportunities right now. This is a tremendous market to sign listings from homeowners desperate to sell and extremely frustrated with their current agent.
You should be asking yourself, right now:
- How can I get these people to sign with me?
- How can I differentiate myself from their present agent and prove that I am both different and better?
The odds are that the current agent did not do much more than list the house in MLS, put up a sign, and recommend price cuts. This is what you are competing against and this is what you have to beat to win the listing.
The Inevitable Trend
Technology cannot be stopped. In 10 years or sooner, every real estate FOR-SALE sign will be lit with solar power and LED lights.
Solar lights for real estate FOR-SALE signs are available in the market now. However, they are new and have less than a 1% penetration rate today. As all other forms of commercial signs are lit to attract attention, technology now makes it possible to illuminate residential FOR-SALE signs without dangerous extension cords, complex jerry-rigged structures, and the need to replace batteries.
To homeowners, illuminating the FOR-SALE sign is obvious and people wonder why the real estate agents are so slow to adopt new technology.
The implication: this is a powerful, inevitable trend. You want to be in front and be a leader. This is your opportunity to be an innovator.
Step 4: Implement Differentiation Today and Start Earning More
These facts and trends create your opportunity (right now, today) to:
- Differentiate yourself from all the other real estate agents in town;
- Prove conclusively that you are different and better from all the other real estate agents in town; and
- Start signing new listings today, like never before.
How? Visit the Relight website, where Relights are under $30, and order one solar light unit. When it comes, take it out of the box and charge it up in the sunlight for day or so. Then, take it to any listing presentations you have scheduled (or expired listings or FSBOs).
Show the homeowner how the RE•Light™ works. Explain the fact that 65% of all houses are sold in part due to the front yard FOR-SALE sign. Your sign works harder because you use the latest technology. The RE•Light™ attracts extra attention to the house, your sign works day and night, and it generates word-of-mouth publicity. All this helps sell the house faster—and faster means a higher price for the homeowner (eliminating rounds of price reductions) and a higher commission for you.
“Selling the house faster means a higher price for the homeowner and a higher commission for you.”
RE•Light™ changes the whole dynamic of the listing presentation conversation. You are now instantly different from all the other real estate agents in town—and you are proving it to the homeowner. You have significantly enhanced your chances of signing the listing. You are increasing your income already.
Be sure to follow the directions in the box for proper installation and sign placement. RE•Light™ is fully automatic; it does not need any batteries and there are no timers to set. It charges and lights automatically. And, the light provides its own security.
Step 5: Implement Long-Term Differentiation to Build Your Business Pipeline
Real estate leads studies have shown that over 50% of the people (leads) planned to move in 4-12 months, while only 30% planned to move in 3 months or less. That means:
- 70% of the people (leads) were long-term prospects;
- People (leads) are willing to reveal themselves under the right circumstances; and
- People (leads) do private research well in advance of actually beginning the moving process.
When you combine this information with Key Fact 2 above, it is possible to lock in a good percentage of customers before other real estate agents even have an inkling the people are in the market.
What exactly do I mean here? 60% of buyers and sellers only contact one broker (and sign with him/her). With the right bait, honey, or incentive, you can get those people to contact you during their research phase. Start a conversation with them, follow up as they desire, provide helpful information and insight, and establish your differentiation to lock them in before they even think about contacting other brokers.
With RE•Light™, you have already established the groundwork for uniqueness and differentiation in your target neighborhoods. But, now you want to take another step to expand your pipeline.
In all of your print ads, on your post card mailings, on your website front page, and on the back of your business cards, add these two simple elements. They do not need much space, but they do need to be prominent and consistent.
Element 1: Put the RE•Light™ logo in your advertising mentioned above along with a phrase that draws attention to it. For example, “we light our signs” or “ask me about.” Again, this sets you apart from the other real estate agents in town and reminds potential customers who you are if they have seen the lights on signs. Email the author Jim Personius and he will send you the logos and license for FREE ($60 value).
Element 2: Offer a free book to homeowners who contact you—“101 Ways to Prepare Your Home For Sale.” Now, people who are thinking about selling in the future will contact you today. Find out their name, address, and phone (so you can send the book—or drop it off!). Find out when they are planning to move and what they are looking for in a new home. Offer a free market survey when they are ready. Bam! You are practically their real estate agent already!
These people are NOT interviewing real estate agents or shopping around for services. They are researching for their own situation. Yet, Key Fact 2 clearly says that there is a 60% chance that they will sign with you and never contact another agent. This is practically money in the bank! Your differentiation will help you grow your income by farming your prospects.
| You can buy 100 copies of the book, complete with your logo and contact information printed right on the cover for about $2 each at Personius & Company. |
 |
What is the best part?
- Your marketing is targeted to people who intend to move;
- You preclude your competition and lock in prospects;
- Your marketing is simple and straightforward;
- Your total investment is just a few hundred dollars—cheaper than the average post card mailing or a single magazine ad;
- You successfully differentiate yourself while positioning yourself as a leader and expert; and
- You can increase your income five fold or more over the next year!
Right now is a great, unique opportunity to significantly build your business, increase your income, and your pipeline while other real estate agents are hibernating or hunkered down.
Good luck! Go get ‘em!
|
u can buy 100 copies of the book, complete with your logo and contact information printed right on the cover for about $2 each at CHIMPP Promotional Experts. The product number is YVVGB-FBZNQ.
|
|
Author: Jim Personius, SmallBiz123.com
Every business needs a website; at least for the basic purposes of credibility. A nice website reinforces your commitment to the business and allows customers, vendors, business partners, referral sources, and potential employees to learn more about you. A good website makes your business look more professional. As an added bonus, having your own email address looks a lot more permanent and professional than generic email addresses from AOL, Comcast, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and the like.
“I cannot afford a website,” you say. “We’re just starting up. The economy is down and money is tight.” Well, print this article, follow the detailed steps, and you can build a really good website for well under $100—and you can do it in just a few hours over a few days. You do not need special technical skills; you do not need to hire anyone.
What costs are involved exactly? You need:
- An Internet domain name (otherwise known as URL, website address, dot com name, etc.). There are many places that sell names on the Internet, such as ICDsoft, Network Solutions, GoDaddy, and many others. We recommend our affiliate partner, ICDsoft (more later). Registering a domain name takes a few minutes and will cost $5-15 or so.
- An Internet hosting service. This is a company that hosts your website on their servers. They connect your website with the Internet. A good hosting company will provide technical support services, site statistics, backup services, security, email servers, database software, subdomain support, and plenty of disk space. Typical basic hosting plans run from $6-20 per month. Most of the companies that sell domain names will be glad to host your website for you.
We recommend and use ICDsoft.com because of the quality of their service and their low price. A domain name and one year of basic hosting costs $77 at ICDsoft.com. The $77 is broken down to $5 for the name registration and $6 per month for hosting. Click (>>save-10%-here<<) and you can save 10% on your ICDsoft.com registration and hosting. So, for about $70, you can have your own really good website and unlimited email addresses for a year—a tremendous bargain! All the rest of the necessary software that you need to build your really good website is free.
Note that this is not an e-commerce website for under $100. If you want to sell products over the Internet, have a product database, have a shopping cart, take credit cards and other payments, then you need a different structure than we discuss here. You can still buy your domain and hosting from the same companies, but you probably do need some professional help to select, set-up, and integrate the shopping cart, product database, payment systems, and security architecture.
Are you ready? Let’s get started…
Set up the Website
( 1 ) Get a website name and hosting service. For US businesses, we prefer and recommend a “.com” name because people really don’t expect or remember other extensions. The domain name companies can tell you what names are available and which are already taken. Some sites even suggest names based on the words you enter. We think it is best and easiest to buy the domain name and hosting from the same company. You can buy them from separate places with some extra work/hassle to transfer the name and DNS to new host service.
( 2 ) You will receive an email(s) from your domain registration and hosting companies confirming that you own the domain name. It should also tell you the address to get to the administrator’s screen (control panel) and provide the user name and password. Log into your control panel to verify the set up. Sometimes it takes a few hours after your domain name purchase to get access.
( 3 ) Create a new email account inside your new domain name for yourself. You will need this later. It’s best to have at least one admin email for your website account. At ICDsoft, click Mail Manager from the Control Panel. Create a new email account by entering the name and password. Write down your new email address and password for later use.
( 4 ) Create a MySQL database. Your hosting company should support MySQL5 and have explicit directions. At ICDsoft, it’s pretty easy.
- Click on My SQL Databases from the Control Panel.
- Name your database (example: website_wpsite) and press CREATE.
- Create a user name and password for your database. Grant all the possible privileges to your new user name (the default privileges).
- Write down your database name, user name, and password; you will need this later.
- Enable the remote connection for your user name.
- Look for a local host address on the page (example: localhost:/tmp/mysql5.sock or similar). Write this down in your notes.
( 5 ) Go to WordPress.org and click Download WordPress from the front page. This will download WordPress-9.9.9.zip to your computer (where 9.9.9 will be the actual numbers of the current WordPress version). Unzip the WordPress-9.9.9.zip folder on your computer. WordPress is free—another tremendous value!
( 6 ) Upload the WordPress software to your hosted web server. Expert webmasters can load WordPress directly to the server and unzip it using ZipDeploy. However, since you are ready this article, we will assume you want to use the slower, more straightforward novice approach. If you are comfortable with an automated solution, use that; it will save you several hours.
- Using the File Manager on the website’s Control Panel, recreate the directory structure on the server that you see in the unzipped WordPress folder you created on your computer. For example, in the main www directory, create three folders (wp-admin, wp-content, and wp-includes). Then under each folder, create new folders that map according to the WordPress structure. Continue until you have created all the WordPress folders in the proper location. Warning, when creating the folder structure, some folder names are capitalized; create new folders exactly as WordPress has named them. Double-check the folder structure carefully to ensure its accuracy and eliminate the chance for difficult errors later.
- Using the “Multi” upload file function in the File Manager, upload the files from WordPress on your computer into the proper associated folders on the server. On ICDSoft, you are limited to 10 files at one time. This can take a while as there are many files to upload. Be careful to upload every file to its proper folder on the Internet server. Once again, double-check to make sure all the right files are in all the right places.
( 7 ) After you have uploaded the WordPress software to the server and double-checked it for accuracy and completeness, open a new browser window. Then type your website name on the browser address line and go to your website. If your WordPress is correct, you will see a message saying that you are missing the wp-config.php file. That is Ok. Click the “Create a Configuration File” button.
( 8 ) Grab your notes from the earlier MySQL database set up steps. Click the “Let’s Go” button.
( 9 ) At the configuration screen (with five partially filled boxes):
- Enter Database Name (example: website_wpsite). Use the same MySQL database name you created earlier.
- At User Name, enter the same MySQL user name you created earlier. Remember capitalization is significant.
- At Password, enter the same MySQL password you created earlier.
- Try leaving “localhost” in the Database Host box.
- Leave “wp_” in the Table Prefix box.
- Click Submit.
( 10 ) If the configuration worked (you will see “All Right Sparky!”), you are in good shape and ready to continue. If not, you will get an error message. Most likely, your error is caused by one of these factors:
- User name or password is not correct.
- You may need to revise the Database Host field. Enter the localhost address that you wrote down earlier (localhost:/tmp/mysql5.sock or similar).
- You are missing some WordPress files on the server. Compare the server files with the WordPress files on your computer.
- Correct your errors and try again.
( 11 ) You are doing great. Click “Run the Install.”
( 12 ) At the Welcome Page:
- Enter the title of your website. You can change this later but enter the website name or short description here.
- Enter the new website email address that you created earlier.
- Check the box to let your website appear on search engines so other people can find you.
- Click “Install WordPress.”
( 13 ) Success! Now, you are ready to set up your website. But first, write down your WordPress User Name (admin) and your WordPress Password (random characters). Click “Log In.”
( 14 ) At the WordPress login page, create a Bookmark or Add to Favorites, so you can easily come to this page whenever you want to adjust your website.
( 15 ) Enter your WordPress User Name and Password. You may want to check the Remember Me box. WordPress will immediately give you an option to change the randomly generated password to something you can remember better.
Build the Website Content
WordPress is the content management and presentation software for your website. It was designed to support blogs, but is very useful and powerful for basic websites as well.
WordPress comes with a default theme and another theme on the side. Themes define the look and feel of your website. In the Dashboard menu on the left side, select Appearance…Themes. You can find both themes there. Select Add New Themes and look through more than 2000 free themes. You can Preview themes to see how they look at full screen size. If you like one, click Install to download and Activate to convert your site to the new theme. Choose a style suitable for your purposes. If you want to change your theme later, you can change themes anytime.
Next, from the WordPress Dashboard, select Settings…General at the bottom. Enter your information in the settings fields.
WordPress has a terrific support structure. You can always click on Documentation at the bottom of the page. Many themes also have support from their writers.
Now, you are ready to add your unique content to your website. Content can appear in two primary formats:
- Posts—posts are article-like content that appears on your website’s front page. You can write these in Microsoft Word (spell and grammar check!) and cut and paste them into the Posts…Add New section. For a basic website, disable comments at the bottom, correct any format issues, and add appropriate descriptive tags so that search engines understand your content topics. Click Preview to see how your post will look on your website. If you are satisfied, click Publish. You can edit your post at any time. For most general websites, one front-page post is probably all you need. Bloggers will have many posts.
- Pages—pages generally appear across the top of your website and are usually accessible from anywhere on your website. Home, About, and Contact Us are common pages that you probably want. Add your page content in the Pages…Add New section. You can write and check these in Microsoft Word and cut and paste into WordPress too.
Add photos to your website to make it more visually appealing. Different themes may require photos/images in different places on the server. Read your theme’s documents. You can easily include/upload in-Post images right in the Post editor. To add Sidebar and banner images, use the File Manager in the Control Panel to upload images to the proper server directory.
Almost all WordPress themes include at least one Sidebar, usually several. From the WordPress Dashboard, select Appearance…Widgets. Widgets are pre-made software functionality packets that you can add to Sidebars and other locations to customize your website. For example, drag the calendar widget to the left Sidebar to add the calendar. Click SAVE and close. At the top of the WordPress, click Visit Site. You may need to hit refresh on your browser a few times to see how the widget looks. WordPress and your theme come with a good selection of widget options. Others are available for download through WordPress documentation and independent developers.
To add photos/images to a Sidebar, drag the Text widget to the Sidebar. Enter a title. In the widget body, enter the HTML link to your image on the server.
In most themes, changing banner images or adding a logo is fairly easy. Check your theme’s help or the WordPress documentation.
You should have a really good website for under $100 now! Congratulations.
No doubt, you will want to continue to tweak and enhance your website. We encourage you to review the WordPress documents to learn more about the free, powerful features and tools that WordPress offers. Most themes have their name at the bottom of the website page (footer). Type that name phrase into Google to search for other websites to see how they use the same theme you are using. It is a great way to get new, creative ideas. Most themes have been downloaded thousands of times—you can see the download number statistics in the WordPress theme directory.
Author: Jim Personius, SmallBiz123.com
Do you have news you would like to share? Perhaps you want to announce:
- a new hire,
- a new product,
- a new website,
- an acquisition,
- a new alliance,
- a big contract,
- a special event,
- a special award,
- a TV or media appearance, or
- some other interesting positive news.
Writing and issuing your own press release is a great way to announce your news. If you can write a few paragraphs using Microsoft Word or another word processing application, you can issue your own press release! It is easy, even fun. Best of all, you do not need to hire anyone; you can do it yourself. Just follow these simple steps and helpful tips.
First, your press release should be newsworthy. That means you must have something to announce. It cannot read like an ad; instead write like a journalist. The opening paragraph should address:
- who is making the announcement (“XYZ Corp is pleased to announce…’);
- what is the announcement (“the grand opening of a new sales office…”);
- where does this happen (in East Springfield);
- when this is happening (on November 1st); and
- why this is happening (to better serve local customers).
Write your press release in the third person. For example, “XYZ Corp announces” rather than “We announce.” Do not use “I,” “we,” “us” or other pronouns unless you are quoting somebody. For example,
XYZ Corp. is proud to announce the November 1st grand opening of a new sales office in East Springfield. John Q. Smith, Vice President of Sales, said “we are pleased to bring our high quality service to our East Springfield customers. Our convenient new location will save our customers from driving to West Springfield.”
Write your press release in your favorite word processor. The best press releases will be 200-800 words long and will focus on one announcement only. If you have three announcements (three new hires, three new offices, three acquisitions, etc.), then write three separate press releases.
End your press release with a paragraph that describes your company and how interested readers can contact you. For example, “XYZ Corp is the leading provider of quality stuff to nice people. For further information, please contact John Q. Smith at 555-5555.”
Be careful when using characters (such as #, *, €, ™, ©, ®, •, etc.). They may not appear correctly when you upload your press release to the Internet PR service. Use trademark, copyright, and registered symbols correctly—particularly if you are referring to other brands or companies. Get permission to use third party names and marks. Also, special formatting, such as bold, underline, italics, special fonts, and varying font sizes, is likely to cause problems or not work at all, so we recommend that you avoid them.
Do not write in an ALL CAPS format; the press release services will flag and reject your press release. Avoid putting prices in headlines or summaries.
Avoid the use of embedded links within your press release. PRZoom forbids links and PRLeap limits their use to no more than one link for every 100-200 words. Your link and contact information will appear at the end of the press release.
Make sure that your press release is about you and/or your company. Do not disparage or harm others. Press releases have very long life spans on the Internet (as in years and years). So stick to tooting your own horn.
When you are comfortable with the body of your press release, run both your spell checker and grammar checker. Make any necessary changes. Print and proof read your press release closely. The spell checker may not catch incorrect word usage such as their, there, and they’re or missing critical adjectives in sentences. Your press release is going to be all over the Internet and it reflects on you. Do not trust your word processor to catch all errors; carefully do the proofing yourself or ask for a second and third set of eyes to help you.
Next, write a succinct, but powerful headline for your press release. It should be 100 characters long or less. We believe one line of text is best. The headline should both summarize your announcement and make somebody want to read your press release to learn more. The short advice is focus on who announces what. For example, “XYZ Corp opens new sales office in East Springfield.”
Then, write a brief summary of your article, say two or three sentences only. This could even be a tweaked version of your opening sentence or two. Many PR recipients will only see the headline and summary. They may need to click to read the full press release. At the very least, the summary helps the reader decide whether to read the full press release or not.
There are two major free press release services, PRLeap and PRZoom. You can sign up for both and issue the same press release in both places.
After you have accounts at PRLeap and PRZoom, you can issue your own press releases. Just follow the instructions to Submit Release (PRZoom) or Submit a Press Release (PRLeap). Cut and paste your article, headline, and summary into the correct boxes. Add your contact information, location information, industry, etc. Be sure to preview your press release before submitting for publication. Double check special characters and line spacing in particular. Make sure your contact info and URL addresses are correct.
Allow 24-48 hours before your press release is issued. Both PRZoom and PRLeap review all press releases prior to publication. Be sure to follow the tips above because the services flag and delay or reject 20-25% of press releases.
Do not submit the same press release again once it has been released over the wires. Of course, you can fix flagged or rejected press releases and submit them until they are approved.
Both PRLeap and PRZoom offer several upgrade options for your press releases. You can pay extra to add a logo or image, get faster review/release, or premium placement, for example.
These optional features are entirely up to you. The two services do not penalize you for not upgrading. Since you are reading an article on free press releases, these features may not be of interest to you until you get some experience under your belt.
Another well-known press release service is PRWeb. PRWeb’s minimum press release is $80. They also offer packages of upgrades if you want to venture away from the free services. PRWeb has an excellent analytics function that tells you how many exposures your press release received and over what time period.
You can get extra mileage from your press release by including it on your website in a News section. Also, consider printing the press release and faxing it your local newspapers’ local interest or business sections.
Good press releases can:
- get you free publicity,
- add to the information people see when they search for you or your company on the search engines,
- enhance your credibility, and
- bring you more business.
Good luck! Start writing.
Author: Jim Personius, SmallBiz123.com
Do you ever wonder about all those ads on websites? Do they really work? Do they really pay? Do you want to try to make some extra money with ads on your website? It’s really pretty easy, particularly if you have a website that attracts many visitors because you have good, unique content. Why not give it a try? It’s free and you might make a few bucks.
 Do Ads Really Work? However, you need to be aware of a few facts up front:
- Because the topical content on your site uses the same key words and terms as your competitors, you may get advertising from competitors. Google helps you limit and prevent that, but you need to keep a close eye on the advertising on your site until you are comfortable that your exclusion criteria work for you.
- When visitors click on an ad on your site, their web browser should open a new browser to the linked ad site. But, visitors will have to click a browser tab to return to your website.
- No matter how strong the temptation, do not click on ads on your own site. Do not click to test the ads; if you see them, they work. Do not click to see the advertised site no matter how interesting the ad, instead type in the web address directly into the browser address line. Do not tell your friends and relatives to click ads. Do not click ads to increase revenue. Why? Because Google (and the other ad companies) will determine that your clicks are invalid and will suspend/cancel your ad account.
So, how do you make money with ads? There are several ways. But, the easiest is with Google AdSense. With AdSense, you make money whenever somebody clicks an ad on your site. Or, you get a little money on a per-thousand-views basis as ads appear to site visitors. With AdSense, you can add Google Analytics and see statistics and reports for site visitors, page visits, clicks, and more.
First, a little background to get started. Ad sizes are based on pixels. Pixels are the dots that make up the ad image on the computer screen. Computer screen resolution is generally based on 72 pixels per inch.
Different ads are different sizes. Google AdSense offers banner ads, tall ads, and squares and rectangles of various sizes. For example:
- Banners – 728 x 90, 468 x 60, 234 x 60
- Tall (Skyscrapers) – 120 x 600, 160 x 600, 120 x 240
- Squares and Rectangles – 200 x 200, 250 x 250, 125 x 125, 300 x 250, 336 x 280
Examine your website to determine where ads fit and where they would receive attention. Do not let them distract from your website, but ads should be in prominent positions for visitors to notice and click them.
Create boxes or spaces in your website where the ads will appear. If you use WordPress or similar blogging software, you can add the ad in the sidebars or banner/header areas.
Go to Google.com and click Advertising Programs in the lower left. Select Google AdSense Sign Up Now on the right or bottom of the screen. Google will ask you questions about your website URL and its primary language. You will also need to complete some personal information about your account type, country of residence, and contact information. We strongly recommend that you carefully read the Google agreement. After all, you are signing a contract with Google and it is a good idea to understand their terms and requirements. Google will verify your site and then you will be ready to start the ad program. Make sure your website has a privacy statement that conforms to Google’s wording about cookies.
Within Google AdSense, find AdSense for Content. The most important decision on the first page is to select the ad size(s) in the Format box. For the rest of the options, you can select Google default values to get started. At the bottom, you can select Show Public Service ads if no ads are available. At least this way, you will know the ad links are working. Then, click Continue.
If you have only one site, you can skip the channels for now. You can go back later and add channels to track how different ad locations perform for you if you have multiple websites or different style pages. Click Continue.
At Save and Get Ad Code, Google will generate a few lines of code for your ad program. Highlight and copy (Control+C) the ad code and in another browser window, paste into the box or location you created. With WordPress, you will paste it into the sidebar or header widget or the sidebar/header area of the editor—depending on your theme and location.
Visit your website in another browser window. You may need to refresh the browser once or twice. Ads should appear in a minute or two. It will take Google up to 24 hours to determine the content of your site and make the ads site appropriate. Remember, do not click on the ads on your site.
You can track performance any time by signing into Google AdSense on the front page of Google.com.
If your ad program is working fine, you may want to consider signing up for free Google Analytics in the AdSense area. Once again, Google will give you some code to add to your website. Paste this code into your website before the </body> line. In WordPress, you can search your editor to find this line. It will place your tracking code on every page where only Google can see it, but where Google can track visits to your website for the Analytics reports.
Good luck. Make some money!
Author: Jim Personius, SmallBiz123.com
Many small business owners advertise—they are accustomed to the local newspaper, blue envelope inserts, printed flyers, inflatable dancers, and even sign-waving guys.
But, advertising on the Internet can seem a bit intimidating. After all, the Internet is a huge place and you might only do business in one corner of town. Who wants to pay for advertising in Hungary, Egypt, Japan, and Australia if you only do business on the east side of Springfield?
Here is good news for you! Google makes it possible to target people only in your area—country, state, city, or 3 miles from your store (for example) who are searching for businesses like yours. You do not have to worry about Internet surfers outside your geographic preference zone. That’s pretty cool, isn’t it?
Even better, you do not have to be a marketing expert or an Internet techie to advertise your business on the Internet. You just need to understand what people are looking for on the Internet when you want them to find you. You can do this yourself; you do not need to hire an expert.
 Good ads generate clicks--and business! You do, however, need a website for your business before you start advertising. Your Internet ads will cause people to click on your ad. Then, their browser will immediately take them to your website where they can read more about your business, products, and services. Once there, your site should help close the sale by completing the online transaction or by directing people to call or visit your shop. If you do not have a website, read our article How to Build a Really Good Website for Under $100.
You also need a credit card to sign up for Google advertising. You can set the dollar-budget limit per month and if/when you hit your limit, your advertising will stop until the next month. You can end your program or change your budget limit at any time. You can also suspend your program if you go on vacation or need to tone things down during a busy season.
Before you start
- Print this article so you can follow the links and keep track of the steps.
- Next, grab your credit card and determine your monthly budget. You can start with $50 per month for instance and see how that goes. Depending on your business and key words, Google may recommend adjusting the level based on the competitive nature of your product/service.
- Build a preliminary list of key words that you want Google to use to trigger your ads. For example, if you are a baker, you might choose wedding cake, birthday cake, anniversary cake, custom cookie, bakery, bakery pie, bakery cakes, etc. Then, when someone searches for “bakery” in your area, your ad might appear along with several other Google ads. Your ads may appear next to search results and also within certain website pages that contain content matching to your key words. Google statistics will tell you how many times your ads appeared and how many times they were clicked so you can judge the effectiveness of your campaign and your ad.
Start Your Internet Advertising
- Go to Google.com. Click on Advertising Programs on the left side of Google’s front page.
- Look for For Advertisers: Google AdWords. Google moves this around, but AdWords will be either on the top or on the left side. Click on Sign Up Now in the blue box.
- You can read some success stories with Google AdWords. Click on the blue Sign Up Now >> box.
- Google will walk you through the account creation process by asking you some questions. You will create a new account using your email address and a password. Be sure to create a good password because your email address is known to many people. We recommend reading the Google Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. We are not impressed with the plot and character development, but the lawyers think this is important. And, you are signing a contract with Google when you create an account.
- Google will send you an email to make sure you are a real person with a real email account. The email will arrive in a minute or so. Click the link in the email to verify your account. On the verification page, find the Click here to continue at the bottom and click.
- On the Google AdWords page, sign in with your email address and your password.
- Once logged in, Google has a pretty good tutorial system and good answers to frequently asked questions.
- From this point, follow the Google steps and click Create Your First Campaign. Google will help you: a) Choose your budget; b) Create your ad; c) Select keywords that match your ads to potential customers; and d) Enter your billing information. When you activate your account and enter credit card information, Google will charge you an activation fee.
- Enter your geographic and language preferences. Google recommends selecting all devices for new advertisers.
- At bidding and budget, Google offers many options. Each business is different. Some businesses are highly competitive and others not so much. Google can provide recommendations and you can read about the options in greater detail on AdWords site. Since this is your first Internet advertising campaign, the odds are that you will be fine by entering a daily budget limit. If you are just experimenting, you can start with $5 per day. Click continue.
- Build your ad on the Create ad and keywords page. Google provides an example ad and walks you right through the ad design. Your ad will appear on the side as your type! At the bottom, enter 10-20 different important keywords that relate to your business and your ad. You can add more keywords later.
- In the Billing area, select your country and enter your preferred payment information. Google walks you through the process. Once again, the lawyers recommend you read Understanding AdWords.
- Congratulations! Now you are advertising on the Internet.
After your campaign begins, you can log back in to the AdWords area through the Google front page. Monitor your performance and read the Google recommendations for your advertising campaign.
Avoid the temptation to click on your own ad when you see it or you will be charging yourself and reducing the budget available for advertising to real prospects.
Over time, you may see certain words are more effective than other keywords. For example, cherry pie, blueberry pie, and apple pie may generate more clicks than “pie” alone. You may want to add every pie flavor your bakery can make to the list of keywords. And, add every flavor of cake to birthday cake, for example.
Click around the Google AdWords site to get ideas and recommendations, learn more, see opportunities, and view reports. Have fun and make money!
Welcome to SmallBiz123.com – your FREE guide to successfully starting, running, and growing a small business! SmallBiz123.com wants to be your complete and practical guide of step-by-step instructions for small business owners, managers, and employees. SmallBiz123.com can:
- Save you money;
- Improve your effectiveness;
- Improve your productivity;
- Grow and expand your small business;
- Help you find new sources of revenue;
- Help you sell new products in new markets;
- Help you start and finish critical new small business projects and initiatives;
- Help you find the right people and advice to accomplish your goals and solve your small business problems;
- Help you understand when you can tackle something yourself and when you need outside expert help;
- Help you improve your marketing, sales, production, finance/accounting, distribution, people policies, technology, packaging, shipping, outsourcing, purchasing, hiring/firing, customer relations, employee relations, use of consultants, advertising, Internet programs, and other critical aspects of your small business.
SmallBiz123.com is written by business people who have “been there and done that.” SmallBiz123.com’s founders have MBA’s and more than 20 years each of experience in management consulting and in owning and operating small businesses.
SmallBiz123.com is your “Small Business Voice of Experience!”
|
|
|
Most Popular Articles