Your guide to using photo sharing, video, podcasts, mobile marketing, and other types of multimedia to broaden your company’s reach and introduce new marketing techniques.

By Lauren Folino, Michelle V. Rafter and Ryan McCarthy | Jan 25, 2010

Multimedia, such as mobile marketing, livecasting and podcasting, photo, video and file sharing, can spread the word about your company and help build brand awareness in a very unique and powerful way. These particular types of social media marketing services also has the ability to go viral quickly. Hottrix, the Las Vegas, Nevada-based iPhone app creator, became one example of a breakthrough success story when their iBeer app, which simulates chugging a mug of beer on the iPhone, became one of the most-downloaded apps in 2008, and again in 2009.

However, your company’s chances of going viral are left more to fate than skill, but that’s no reason to discount the importance of multimedia for your business. The ability of these technologies to facilitate communication between your small business and employees, your customers and potential customers, is tremendous, says Keith Nissen, principle analyst at the Scottsdale, Arizona-based market intelligence firm, In-Stat.

“When you think about [multimedia platforms] and what that’s all about, it’s about being able to communicate mass marketing messages to the device of choice on demand,” says Nissen. “I think what’s more interesting is how these tools can be used in conjunction with other multimedia tools to support the business–the marketing, the sales and promotion of their products and services. To me, that, for a small business, is probably more important than internal communication.”

Here’s a look at some of the most effective ways to leverage media, such as photos, podcasts, videos, and other types of mobile marketing.

How to Use Multimedia For Business Marketing: Sharing Photos With Your Online Community.

Several online communities exist for the purpose of uploading and sharing photos over the Web, and many small businesses have learned to take advantage of these services to market their products. Here are the most common photo sharing marketing strategies.

1. Offer real-time incentives. Twitter’s TweetPhoto will automatically enable you to publish photos to your Twitter and Facebook accounts for free via mobile and Web platforms. Who needs 140 characters to describe your business when a picture is worth 1,000 words? Tweet pictures of discounted and new items or offer exclusive incentives.

2. Join like-minded communities. At no cost, Yahoo!-operated Flickr provides a useful platform for photo management and sharing. “The first thing that I tell people is that Flickr is not just a photo storage place,” says Matt McGee, independent online marketing consultant of the Tri-Cities, Washington-based, Small Business Search Marketing. “It’s a very active community centered around Flickr groups.” For example, a pet-lovers group may get a kick out of the clothing and toys created by a boutique pet store.

3. Drive traffic to your website. Pink Cake Box, a gourmet cake shop located in Denville, New Jersey, began using Flickr in 2006 to build brand identity. Co-owner Jesse Heap says that Pink Cake Box’s website receives about 300,000 unique users each month, and roughly 10 percent of those visitors are from Flickr, where the company posts photos of interesting or extreme cakes.

How to Use Multimedia For Business Marketing: Hosting Videos and Webcasting.

Sharing videos over the Web is another great resource for small businesses in establishing a social media presence, particularly because of how many people are tuning in. According to a November 2009 survey released by comScore, a digital marketing research firm headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Google’s many video sites accounted for 12.2 billion videos viewed that month, including YouTube, which accounted for nearly 99 percent of the total.

Webcasting is essentially broadcasting a video or media file over the Internet using streaming media technology, which can be distributed to many simultaneous viewers at once. Done the right way, webcasts, also called video podcasts, vblogs, videocasting or Web shows, can be effective promotional tools. “It’s a cool opportunity to take people behind the scenes of a business,” says Dina Kaplan, co-founder and COO of blip.tv, a four-year-old Internet TV network. Her network airs video podcasts from hundreds of companies as diverse as the New York City Ballet to the crafter website Etsy, which broadcasts online classes. “It’s been interesting to watch, especially in the last year, how many businesses have created Web shows to promote their product or gain exposure for principals,” Kaplan says.

Shooting a video for YouTube or starting a more elaborate webcast essentially takes four basic ingredients: equipment, a theme, an online home and marketing.

1. The equipment. Very small businesses can buy a webcam or camcorder, wireless microphone and simple video editing equipment such as Sony’s Vegas Movie Studio or Final Cut Pro 7. However, a webcam limits you to filming yourself sitting in front of a computer, and that’s not very exciting, says Peter Brusso, an Anaheim, California, podcasting producer and technology marketing consultant. Instead, invest in a camcorder, preferably a “three-chip” camera that uses three computer chips to separate colors, which results in a higher quality picture, Brusso says.

2. Hire someone. If you have a bigger budget, hire a professional. Prices run from $1,000 to $15,000, according to podcast industry sources. Employment attorney Helene Wasserman created a video podcast called Employer Helpcast two years ago to market her work as a partner with Ford & Harrison LLP, a Los Angeles law firm. Wasserman uses Brusso’s company to produce video podcasts and pays $2,500 for segments that run anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes. It’s worth the money, she says. “If you’re trying to market yourself as having a very professional business, you want to put your best foot forward,” she says.

3. The show. You could have the best-looking video around, but it wouldn’t matter if you didn’t do something that was interesting and consistent, says blip.tv’s Kaplan. For webcasts, stick to a regular broadcast schedule, whether that’s once a day, week or month. And keep shows short. “Your aptitude for sitting in your uncomfortable office chair atrophies after about six minutes,” she says. Be personable, says Kaplan, who advises podcasters to stick to the old news adage to show, not tell. If you run a retail business, walk around the store, and talk about new merchandise. “Talk to a customer. If you have a hardware store, show them the new hammer on sale,” she says.

4. Hosting and marketing. Once you’ve got a video in the can, upload it for free on YouTube where it can be viewed by anyone. Webcasts can also be uploaded to free or paid hosting sites such as blip.tv, iTunes or Libsyn. Where a podcast is hosted isn’t as important as spreading the word that it’s there. Wasserman’s podcasts appear on blip.tv and iTunes and cover workplace issues such as job sharing, corporate culture and managing a multi-generational workforce. Wasserman points prospective viewers to the podcast from her website and blog and by including a tagline promoting the show in her email signature. Wasserman also uses a free service that puts word-for-word transcripts of her video podcasts on the Web, where they can be searched by Google and other search engines. More people find her podcast through search engines than by visiting blip.tv or her website, and the traffic had led to speaking engagements and new work, she says. “It’s the wave of the future. For anyone who wants to use 21st century technologies, this is the way to go.”

How to Use Multimedia For Business Marketing: 4 Good Reasons to Go Through the Trouble of Creating a Video.

1. Show how to use your product. With a slogan as simple as “Broadcast Yourself,” many YouTube users are doing just that, especially when it comes to showing how their products or services can be used. “There are countless small business owners posting how-to videos on YouTube,” says McGee. “[For instance,] here’s how to use the product; here’s how to interact with people in our service industry.”

2. Extend your client base. In December 2007, John Tuggle, a slide and blues guitar instructor based in Decatur, Georgia, began posting videos on YouTube teaching people how to play guitar because he wasn’t generating enough interest in his hometown. By February 2008, interest in his lessens grew so much that he created LearningGuitarNow.com where visitors contacted him regularly for private lessons via Skype at the rate of $25 for 30 minutes. “I just kept [talking to people] and kept putting more out, and figuring out what people wanted. Last year I pulled in almost $100,000 from the website,” said Tuggle.

3. Entertain your customers. It is quite easy to post a video simply for visitors’ enjoyment. For instance, Vimeo, a video hosting site that aims to be a “community of creative people who are passionate about sharing the videos they make,” features a ‘Videos we like’ tab. For a small business owner, posting a video for entertainment purposes stands to generate many views, which in turn may spark interest in the company and possibly lead to the purchase of products or services.

4. Provide a unique service. LiveCast, with headquarters in Vancouver, Canada, enables live video streaming directly from a cell phone, mobile Internet device, or Mac or PC, to anyone connected to the Web. For Gordon Cooper, photographer and founder of Perfect Wedding magazine, live broadcasting gives his business a unique capability. “I can have all the guests at the wedding even if they’re not at the wedding,” says Cooper. “Guest can still experience the live ceremony [from wherever they are].” Cooper is able to charge an additional $250 for this service.

Dig Deeper: Marketing Your Business on YouTube

How to Use Multimedia For Business Marketing: Podcasting

Podcasts have become such a popular marketing tool for sole proprietors and small businesses that a small army of professional producers is out there waiting to help. Here are 9 essential steps a company needs to get started:

1. Do some homework. The best way to learn about podcasting is to listen to podcasts, says Peter Brusso, an Anaheim, California, podcasting producer and technology marketing consultant. Visit directories such as RSS Player or Libsyn and look for podcasts with a similar style or subject to you want to create, Brusso says.

2. Decide on a topic. Podcasts could focus on a company’s products or services, an industry or on management or professional issues. Whatever the topic, make sure it’s related to a company’s business in some way, says Sallie Goetsch, proprietor of The Podcast Asylum, a northern California podcast producer and consultant.

3. Gather your tools. Producing a podcast requires:
• A microphone, digital audio recorder or USB headset to record podcast episodes
• Computer with sound card and high-speed Internet connection
• Audio recording and editing software, either licensed software or free open-source programs such as Audacity.

4. Be natural. When it’s time to record a podcast, organize talking points, but don’t use a script. “People don’t like being sold. The more from the heart the better,” Brusso says.

5. Build a backlog. Before going live, build up a catalog of a dozen or more episodes. Coming up with ideas is easy, Brusso says. They can spring from talking to customers, going to conventions, reading trade magazines, or following current events.

6. Be consistent. Length, professional quality, and subject matter of a company’s podcast are important but not as much as on-air consistency. Whether it’s once a day, once a week or once a month, pick a schedule and stick to it. Podcasts are like radio or TV shows: audiences expect a schedule. Disappoint them and they might not come around again, Brusso says.

7. Not a D-I-Y type? Hire a pro. Professional producers can handle the technical aspects of starting or creating a podcast. Goetsch and partners Priscilla Rice and Michele Molitor, for example, offer a small-business podcast starter package for $1,100 that covers scripting and recording three to four podcasts plus lots of extras, including finding a hosting service, setting up a podcast blog and submitting broadcasts to podcast directories. Brusso, who works with lawyers and other sole proprietors, charges $1,000 for an hour-long podcast with similar extras. But it doesn’t have to be expensive. According to Goetsch, a small businessperson could do everything themselves with an existing computer, $20 headset, free software for audio editing and creating a podcast, and host it on their existing website.

8. Find your podcast a home. Companies can physically host a podcast anywhere, including with the service they use for their website. What really matters is getting the word out that it’s there. For maximum exposure, list podcasts on directories such as PodcastAlley.com, Podcast411, Podanza or TalkShoe.

9. Forget about making money, at least not directly. Some podcasts collect revenue from advertising that podcast directories put on their sites. But that shouldn’t be why a company does it. Podcasts should be part of a company’s overall marketing strategy, Brusso says. “To get yourself known, you have to blog, optimize your Website for search engines and podcast,” he says. “If you do all three the results are phenomenal.”

How to Use Multimedia For Business Marketing: Mobile Marketing

There are 4.1 billion cellular connections worldwide, and with the prevalence of smart phones, the concept of browsing the Web from a mobile phone has gone mainstream. Consider this: Mobile phone carriers are sitting atop a trove of data – not just your name, address, and, of course, phone number but also credit card information, who your friends are, and where you’re located at this very moment. Even with privacy regulations, more of this information will become available to marketers as phones are used more like little PCs, creating opportunities for highly targeted ads and other marketing breakthroughs.

Here’s what you need to know to get started.

• How exactly do I advertise on a mobile phone? The most common type of mobile ad is a display ad served on a Web page called up on a cell phone’s screen. The ads are created for the site’s mobile format and may not be the same as the ads you would see if you were browsing the site on a PC. Ads are priced on a Cost Per Mille, or CPM, basis – the price you pay for the ad to be seen 1,000 times.

• How do I buy mobile ads? Most advertisers work with mobile-ad networks, which bring together advertisers and websites that are frequently viewed by phone. Some of the larger players, which are owned by the likes of Google (AdMob), AOL (Third Screen Media) and Apple (Quattro Wireless), will act as full-service marketing shops. They handle the entire process, including technology, the creative content of mobile ads, and the ads’ placement.

• What do mobile ads cost? The cost of mobile ads varies due to the different types of ads, and different cell phone platforms. For instance, AdMob, one of the main mobile-ad networks, currently charges CPMs of $12 to $14 for iPhone banner ads.

• What about text messaging? One option is to buy or rent a short code, a five- or six-digit phone number from which you can send and receive text messages. One common way to use a short code is to publish it on a billboard or in a print ad (“Text 51234 for more information”) that encourages customers to enter a contest or participate in a poll.

• What does a short code cost? Cellit Mobile Marketing, in Chicago, and Movo, in Florida, sell short codes for $500 to $1,000 per month, plus a one-time setup fee of a few thousand dollars and a charge of 4 cents to 7 cents for each text message. You can also rent a code for as little as $225 per month. Keep in mind that technological standards vary. Nearly every phone on the market is equipped to send and receive texts, but some systems won’t let you embed complex graphics or photographs.

• How do I go after my best customers on a mobile phone? Google has expanded into the mobile world in several ways. Now, it allows companies to buy display ads – ads related to content – on the mobile Web. AdMob claims click-through rates on this type of ad of up to 3 percent, which is quite high. The company charges a cost-per-click (CPC) fee of 25 cents to 30 cents.

How to Use Multimedia For Business Marketing: 3 Tips for Making Your Mobile Campaign Successful

1. Determine your goals. Who is your target audience? How will they benefit from your message? Do you hope to generate revenue, generate interest, generate traffic to your website, or all three? Define your goals and set benchmarks for what a successful campaign would look like.

2. Choose your message. Your message should have a clear call to action. According to mobile marketing firm Punchkick Interactive, “over 90 percent of texts from SMS messaging campaigns are read by recipients, generating average response rates of 15 to 30 percent or more.” With the potential for that kind of penetration, it would help to make sure your campaign is simple, memorable, and factual. One thing every local business should be doing, says James Citron, CEO of mobile video marketing firm Mogreet, is attach keywords to their mobile campaigns that will resonate with customers in order to create brand awareness.

3. Pair your mobile marketing campaign with other social media marketing services. When Casa Del Mar, a luxury beach hotel located in Santa Monica, California, wanted to get the word out about drink specials, they doubled up on social media marketing services. The hotel posted messages on Twitter and Facebook saying, “Text CASA to 21534 and enjoy unlimited champagne or Bloodys. FREE.” Customers who texted received videos of the weekend brunch spread on their phone and received the beverage of their choice at the hotel. The end result was highly viral, with 250 redemptions.

By Marty Orgel

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — In these tough economic times, owners of businesses small and large are coming up with unexpected ways to save money.

The University of Wisconsin at Green Bay said it will save $10,000 annually by changing its font type. The university switched from Arial to Century Gothic because Century Gothic font doesn’t use as much ink when printed, according to an Associated Press report.

In these days of economizing, changing your font style is an innovative way to cut costs. Here are six other ways to save money without drastically changing your business practices.

1. Move paper forms online

Another educational institution said it, too, is saving $10,000 annually — by switching from paper forms to online e-forms.

“We use tens of thousands of forms in all sorts of applications,” said Al Foytek, director of business information systems for the Visalia Unified School District in California.

“The money we save using electronic forms like those from software maker PerfectForms can easily cover the cost to automate our whole processing procedure,” Foytek said. “For example, our print shop uses a paper form which costs us about 75 cents each and we have around 15,000 requests that require other, specific forms each year.”

2. Take it to City Hall

Negotiating with City Hall is another key way to save, said Amy Handlin, deputy minority leader of the New Jersey General Assembly and associate professor of marketing at Monmouth University in New Jersey. The state legislator also wrote the new book, “Be Your Own Lobbyist.”

Handlin said lobbying local and state government is the most cost-effective way to fix a small-business problem.

For example, she said, a city inspector told the owner of a bakery in Salt Lake City that the business would be shut down unless the owner spent $40,000 to install a grease trap in the street. With skillful lobbying, the bakery owner was permitted to place a grease trap in her own kitchen at minimal cost, with the understanding that it would be accessible for monitoring by the city.

Then there’s the group of small-business owners who went before the Massachusetts Public Health Department, Handlin said. New frozen-food regulations required businesses to buy refrigerated trucks that cost $50,000. At a public hearing, the business owners argued for cheaper alternatives. The state agreed, allowing the affected companies to transport goods any way they wanted as long as they maintained safe temperatures.

“Lobbying the right people with the right message is precisely the way to speed things up,” Handlin said.

3. Speed up the payment cycle

Another way to save money: decrease your payment terms. While 30-day-net and 60-day-net are the normal time periods small-business owners give clients to pay invoices, changing those terms can save money, said John Reddish, president of Philadelphia, Penn.-based Advent Management International Ltd.

“Shorter turnaround times can result in lower borrowing costs for money for operating capital,” Reddish said. “A faster turnaround on payments cuts the interest small-business owners have to pay.”

Reddish said one stamping company client changed the due date for billing to “net 15″ and cash flow improved by 31%. For many small businesses, he said, 30-days-net translates into payment up to 63 days later by the time the client actually cuts a check. Making payments due net 15 translates into payment in 48 days — a 31% improvement in cash flow.

There is a downside to this practice, Reddish said. If a customer challenges the change in terms, “you either back off or risk losing business.” But if the client is happy with the services or goods the business owner is providing, changes in terms often slide right through.

4. Sell global, ship local

Shipping costs often are a major expense for both online and brick-and-mortar small- business owners. The cost of fulfillment can make or break a small company. That’s a problem that Shipwire Inc of Palo Alto, Calif., is leveraging. The company offers worldwide shipping at local-country rates, saving customers thousands of dollars in international shipments.

Shipwire has six warehouses in three countries where it stores inventory for small businesses, and works with 15 carriers and freight systems. Pay-as-you-go pricing plans start at $30 a month. And small-business owners can scale-up as business grows.

“Many companies save $30,000 a year with our services,” said Nate Gilmore, Shipwire’s vice president of marketing.

The savings come when businesses can charge customers local shipping rates instead of international rates. For instance, Gilmore said, a San Francisco-based software company can use a Shipwire warehouse in London to deliver an order in Manchester and pay only local U.K. shipping rates.

5. Perfect the art of the deal

With the U.S. Air Force spending billions of dollars a year on outsourcing, researchers at the University of Tennessee felt there probably was room for significant savings.

“The Air Force spends $34 billion on outsourced services a year, and is always trying to find better ways to save taxpayers’ money,” said Kate Vitasek with the Center for Executive Education at the University of Tennessee.

Vitasek said that using “vested outsourcing,” an idea developed by the university, the Air Force saved $79 million on an engine maintenance program for the F/A 18 Hornet.

What is vested outsourcing? It’s the process of negotiating contracts with vendors so that they earn more when they meet all the terms of the contract, and they are penalized when they don’t. A vested outsourcing agreement will cut hidden contract costs and only pay the vendor if and when that vendor successfully lives up to the terms of the contract.

Vitasek said Microsoft Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!msft/quotes/nls/msft (MSFT 23.20, +0.04, +0.17%) used vested outsourcing principles with the technology consultancy firm Accenture PLC /quotes/comstock/13*!acn/quotes/nls/acn (ACN 38.21, -0.07, -0.20%) . The 7-year contract is valued at $185 million and “they have cut the costs 35%,” or almost $65 million, she said.

The University of Tennessee studied only very large companies, but Vitasek said all companies, from mom-and-pop markets to multi-billion dollar institutions, can benefit from vested outsourcing.

6. Pull in some free advertising

Bert Martinez of Bert Martinez Communications LLC in Houston, Texas, has a unique take on guerilla marketing. He said small-business owners can reap large rewards by scouring local yellow pages and business directories.

“Call the phone numbers in your competitors’ ads,” he said. “You will always find several ads that have disconnected numbers. Then surf competitors’ websites and find any that are out of business.”

Then, contact the telephone company and the website domain name registrar. When possible, buy your competitors’ website names and take over their telephone numbers. The phone company and domain registrars can assign those disconnected numbers to your main number, and the websites can be redirected to your site.

“Voila,” Martinez said. “You’re now receiving tons of new yellow-page advertising and web traffic!”

Marty Orgel is a freelance writer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Michael Jordan provides the ultimate motivation with a journey through his legacy that challenges you to look beyond your limits and rise to your potential.

Over the past year we’ve known that Google now uses speech to text conversion. That means that they take the SPOKEN text from videos, and convert it to text.

While they won’t tell us WHY they do that, the obvious answer is that they are looking for RELEVANT CONTENT. They now use your spoken text to categorize and rank your video.

So we’ve been experimenting a bit, and we’ve discovered that in most cases you can improve your Google ranking with your websites by adding keywords in your spoken audio.

Note – Google actually publishes information about their ranking algorithm on their website. You can read it for yourself at http://www.google.com/technology/.

TIP: Remember to place your main keywords up front, and use them throughout the video. Use them in a organic or natural way, but write your script just as if you were writing a web page that you want Google to index, because with their speech to text conversion, they are applying the same algorithms as if it were just written text.

CAUTION – Just using music behind written text in a slide show does not work as well.

Developing good habits is the basic of personal development and growth. Everything we do is the result of a habit that was previously taught to us. Unfortunately, not all the habits that we have are good, that’s why we are constantly trying to improve.

The following is a list of 30 practical habits that can make a huge difference in your life.

You should treat this list as a reference, and implement just one habit per month. This way you will have the time to fully absorb each of them, while still seeing significant improvements each month.
Health habits

1. Exercise 30 minutes every day. Especially if you don’t do much movement while working, it’s essential that you get some daily exercise. 30 minutes every day are the minimum recommended for optimal health.

2. Eat breakfast every day. Breakfast is the more important meal of the day, yet so many people skip it. Personally, I like to eat a couple of toasts in the morning along with a fruit beverage.

3. Sleep 8 hours. Sleep deprivation is never a good idea. You may think that you are gaining time by sleeping less, when in reality you are only gaining stress and tiredness. 8 hours are a good number of hours for most people, along with an optional 20 minutes nap after lunch.

4. Avoid snacking between meals. Snacking between meals is the best way to gain weight. If you are hungry, eat something concrete. Otherwise don’t. Update: for clarification, I mean don’t eat junk food between meals, but eating real food it’s ok.

5. Eat five portions of fruits and vegetables every day. Our body and brain loves getting vegetables and fruit, so I highly recommend eating as much of them as possible. Five portions is the dose that’s usually recommended by many health associations.

6. Eat fish. Fish is rich of omega 3 and other healthy elements. At least one meal per week of fish should be enough for getting all these nutrients.

7. Drink one glass of water when you wake up. When you wake up, your body is dehydrated and needs liquid. Make the habit of drinking one glass of water after you wake up in the morning. Also, drink more during the day.

8. Avoid soda. Soda is often one of the most unhealthy beverage you can find. Limit your consumption of soda as much as possible and you’re body will be grateful for that.

9. Keep your body clean. I don’t advise spending your day in front of the mirror, but a minimum of personal care does never hurt.

10. If you smoke, stop it. There’s no reason to smoke anymore, and quitting is easy.

11. If you drink, stop it. Same as above. Don’t think that alcohol will solve your problems. It never does. The only exception is one glass of wine per day during meals.

12. Take the stairs. This is just a hack that forces you to do a minimum of exercise. Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs.

Productivity habits

1. Use an inbox system. Make the habit of keeping track of all the ideas and things that comes to mind. You can use a notebook to do this, and then sync everything on your computer.

2. Prioritize. If you have a list of things to do, where do you start? One way is to prioritize your list. If you are in doubt, ask yourself: “If I could only accomplish one thing today, what would it be?”

3. Plan, but not too much. Planning is important, and you should decide in advance what you are going to do today or this week. However, planning for more than a few weeks is usually inefficient, so I would not worry too much about that.

4. Wake up early. Waking up early in the morning is a great way to gain extra time. I personally like to wake up at 5 am, so that by 9 am I have already accomplished what otherwise would have taken me many days..

5. Check your email only twice per day. Email can easily become an addiction, but it’s usually unnecessary to check it every 10 minutes. Make an effort and check your email only once or twice per day, see if the world will still rotate as before after you try this.

6. Eliminate unimportant tasks. Being busy all day does not mean you are doing important stuff. Eliminate every activity that’s not important, and focus on what really matters.

7. Clean off your desk and room. Having a clear room and desk is important to maintain focus and creativity.

8. Automate. There are a lot of tasks that you need to perform every day or every week. Try to automate them as much as possible.

9. Set strict deadlines. When you do something, decide in advance when you’re going to stop. There’s a rule that states that you will fulfill all the time you have available for completing a task, so make an habit of setting strict deadlines for maximizing your productivity.

10. Take one day off per week. Instead of working every day, take one day off per week (for example sunday) where you are not going to turn on your computer. Use that time for doing recreational activities like going for a walk.

Personal Development habits

1. Read 1 book per week. Reading is a good way to keep your brain active. With just 30 minutes per day you should be able to read one book per week, or more than 50 books per year.

2. Solve puzzles. Quizzes, word games, etc. are all good ways to exercise your brain.

3. Think positively. You are what you think, all the time.

4. Make fast decisions. Instead of thinking for one hour wherever you are going to do something, make your decisions as fast as possible (usually less than 1 minute).

5. Wait before buying. Waiting 48 hours before buying anything is a tremendous money saver, try it.

6. Meditate 30 minutes per day. A great way to gain clearness and peace is through meditation. 30 minutes are not a lot, but enough to get you started with meditation.

Career habits

1. Start a blog. Blogging is one of the best way to put your word out. It doesn’t have to be around a specific topic, even a personal blog will do.

2. Build a portfolio. If your job is creating stuff, building a portfolio is a great way to show what you are capable of. You can also contribute stuff for free if that applies to your work.

What do you think? What are the habits that changed your life?

Common Press Release Mistakes: Avoid These Costly Press Release Errors

As one of the Internet’s largest news release distribution services, we have seen some of the best press releases on the Web. We’ve also seen some of the worst. Since your news release is competing with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of other companies and organizations that are all vying for a reader’s attention, it’s best to make sure that your release is strong and free of mistakes. Remember, you won’t get a second chance to correct the negative impressions left by a poorly written release.

Here are some of the top mistakes we see in press releases:

Use of ALL CAPS – Using ALL CAPS to create emphasis and draw attention to keywords and phrases is not well used in news releases. Your press release should be written professionally and utilize proper grammatical and spelling guidelines. Let the facts and the information in your press release do the talking to excite and interest readers.

Grammatical Errors – It’s very important to proofread, edit, and proofread again so that when you submit your release you are confident that it is well-written, correctly formatted and error-free.

Lack of Content: While short is sweet, when it comes to news releases, content is king. It’s a good idea to keep things concise but not at the expense of the important details that will define your news. PRWeb recommends writing your press release between 300 and 800 words. Be sure to answer all of the “W” questions (who, what, where, when, why and how) to ensure a complete release.

Advertisements: While news releases are promotional, they definitely are not advertisements. A good news release informs in an objective voice. An advertisement tries to sell. If your news release screams “BUY ME!” then you should consider reworking it.

Hype Flags: Hype flags include an abundance of exclamation points, wild product and service claims and overabundant use of words like “best,” “FREE,” and “amazing.” Not only do you risk tripping spam filters by including these hype flags in your release, you also risk turning off readers who are looking for facts, not hype.

Direct Address: Many press release writers desire to bring the reader in by using a lot of direct address and making statements directly to the reader using words like “you,” “your” and “we.” Direct address can be a flag that a release is actually an advertisement. In addition, you lose the chance to use important keywords and phrases instead of direct address. Use a term that defines your audience such as “marketers” or “accountants” rather than “you.”

After Google purchased Youtube.com Videos became all the rage. It used to be that only a handful of corporate websites had videos and now they are on more and more websites. The Kodak Zi8 and Flip HD allow anyone to look pretty professional with out the big expense. Videos allow you and your company an excellent way to connect with prospects and clients on a personal level.

It’s one thing to write compelling web copy that works, but it’s quite another to show a movie of yourself speaking. Personally, I was afraid of sounding stupid, looking weird or actually hurting my marketing rather than helping it. I generally think I am un-photogenic. But the more I worked with videos and spoke to professional I realized those feelings are pretty natural.

We encourage all clients to use videos and we currently recommending the Kodak Zi8 because of it’s external mic jack. We use videos on our facebook page and with our business and sales training.

Here are a few tips we would recommend from our experience.

1. Make sure you have your core message crystal clear. You need to connect empathetically with your customers and speak right to their need and the benefits you offer. If you are unclear of your focus, get help with that before doing your video.

2. If you are using a small digital camera like the Flip HD or Kodak Zi8 like I do, make sure you use good lighting it is fairly easy too, but you’ll definitely need some practice.

3. Keep it well under a minute or less. People will watch a video if it is short and quick. If it goes too long people won’t watch all the way to the end. This means you don’t have to say a lot but what you do say needs to be clear and compelling. Even 15 seconds can be good. We been on national TV and Radio where you only have 2-3 minutes to speak.

4. Make sure you smile, as this makes a huge difference in terms of connecting with people. No one can resist a good smile. Smiling is a skill so again you may need some practice.

5. Make sure you have a call to action at the end. Something that you want people to do. Buy a book; take a class; sign-up for a newsletter or whatever. Don’t lose the opportunity to let people know what to do next, but always bring in the benefits to them.

Go for it and have fun!!

When your video is done you can upload it in on YouTube.Com get the code so you can paste it on your website. Take note add your web address on the first line of the description, so people will see it.

Also I high recommend an expensive lavalier microphone for any Kodak Zi8 it ads a huge level of professionalism.

You Were Created to Succeed!
Bert Martinez

Everything we buy has an emotional explanation. When we buy something, our subconscious level is as active as our conscious one, because deep inside, everyone feels the need to fulfill certain human needs. The easiest of which is avoiding fear/pain/boredom or to gain excitement/pleasure/certainty.
The majority of us, when we buy something, are trying to fill an emotional void. We are attempting to get closer to happiness and to a life free of problems. This is why we buy what we want as much as, or even more than, what we need, to get rid of the pain or to feel happy. There may be exceptions to this — it’s doubtful that you feel an emotional connection to your laundry detergent or toilet paper — but any items that require a decision-making process definitely fall into the “emotional connection” category.
Below we discuss the 6 basic human needs that control the pleasure/pain buttons. Our advice as marketing/business experts is that when you are trying to sell a product or service, link it to one of these, and you will get the person to connect emotionally with your offering.

1. First necessity: Certainty
If you can prove to people that your product or service will bring certainty to their lives, they will buy it. It can be the certainty of love, security, health, self-respect, financial freedom, or peace, you name it, just know your potential clients’ desires.

2. Second necessity: Variety
While there is a small group of folks that we would classify as “creatures of habit,” most people need variety to feel alive. The same, over and over again, bores them. We travel, read, meet people, and try new foods, among other things, in search for variety. Some people hate routine, so present your product or service as a routine breaker.

3. Third necessity: Significance
Significance is a great buying motivator; however, this word has a very subjective meaning. People have different views and experiences in regards to what is significant for them. You have to clearly identify what matters to your potential clients in order to present the significance your product or service may have for them.

4. Fourth necessity: Connection
Connection is vital in a person’s life. We have the need to feel deeply connected to our family, friends, community, society, and country. How can your product or service enhance that connection?

5. Fifth necessity: Growth
Life is about growth. People need to grow every day in order to feel alive, successful and prosperous. One can grow emotionally, professionally, spiritually, financially, etc. If your product or service supports a person’s growth in any area, there is a big chance they will buy it.

6. Sixth necessity: Contribution
Everyone has a purpose in life. Everyone was born to fulfill a mission, and this is why everyone needs to know that his or her life matters. Human beings have the need to make a difference and to contribute to the wellness of the world in some way.

Your product or service will connect deeply with your customers if it offers them an opportunity to tap into their emotions.

Watch Video

Psyching Yourself Out of A Sale

When clients ask for help in closing more sales, I’d ask them to list the objections they are hearing that prevented the sale. It’s when they start stumbling over their response that I ask, “Are these the objections you are hearing directly from your prospects or what you’re assuming as the reason why they don’t buy?”

Whether it’s around our sales efforts, during a conversation with our boss (and our kids), or when trying to uncover ways to best manage your team, certain assumptions can dramatically affect the results we seek to achieve, especially during a conversation.

Rather than uncovering the real barrier to the sale, assuming the objection becomes a detrimental process that spreads like a virus throughout every sales call. These assumptions are not based on the facts but rather the salesperson’s assumption of the truth.

When clients ask for help in closing more sales, I’d ask them to list the objections they are hearing that prevented the sale. It’s when they start stumbling over their response that I ask, “Are these the objections you are hearing directly from your prospects or what you’re assuming as the reason why they don’t buy?”

Whether it’s around our sales efforts, during a conversation with our boss (and our kids), or when trying to uncover ways to best manage your team, certain assumptions can dramatically affect the results we seek to achieve, especially during a conversation.

Rather than uncovering the real barrier to the sale, assuming the objection becomes a detrimental process that spreads like a virus throughout every sales call. These assumptions are not based on the facts but rather the salesperson’s assumption of the truth.

Salespeople often fall into this trap when creating solutions for their prospects. During a conversation with a prospect, they uncover a similar situation or problem that they have handled with a previous client. So, they assume that the same solution will fit for this prospect as well.

The problem arises when the salesperson fails to invest the time to go beyond what may be obvious and explore the prospect’s specific objectives or concerns.

Thinking they “know” this prospect, the salesperson provides them with the benefits of his service that he perceives to be important, without considering the prospect’s particular needs.

The next time you’re speaking with your boss, your family your employees, or if you’re on a sales call, rather than assuming the objection, how the prospect makes a buying decision, what they know or what they want to hear, follow these suggestions to create more selling opportunities.

1. Identify The Knowledge Gap.
That’s the space between what people know and what they don’t know. Instead of assuming what they know, start determining what they need/want to learn in order to fill in this gap and ensure clear communication. What may seem old or common to you is new to them. Use questions up front to uncover what’s needed to fill in the gap. Example: “Just so I don’t sound repetitive, how familiar are you with-?”

2. Be Curious.
Question everything! Since you’re in the business
of providing solutions, invest the time to uncover the person’s specific need or problem, as opposed to providing common solutions that you assume may fit for everyone. For example, the words “Frustrated, successful, affordable, reliable and quality,” can be interpreted in a variety of ways and often carry a different meaning for each of us.

When you hear a prospect make a comment like, “I want a quality product that will give me the results I want at an affordable price,” use this as an opportunity to explore deeper into what they want or need most. “What type of results are you looking for?” “What is affordable to you?” Questions allow you to clarify what you have heard or go into a topic in more depth so you can become clear with what they are really saying.

3. Clarify!
Make each prospect feel that they are truly being listened to and understood. Use a clarifier when responding to what you’ve heard during the conversation. Rephrase in your own words what they had said to ensure that you not only heard, but also understood them. Then, confirm the next course of action. Examples: “What I’m hearing you say is…” “Tell me more about that.” “What do you see as the next step?”

4. Just The Facts, Please
“I told a prospect that I’d follow up within a week. Two weeks later, I figured I missed my chance and they went with someone else.” Sound familiar? Effective salespeople don’t guess themselves into a sale. To ensure you’re operating with the facts, ask yourself this, “Do I have evidence to support my assumption or how I’m feeling?” Enjoy the peace of mind that comes from gaining clarity rather than drowning in the stories that you believe are true.

How advantageous is it to increase your people skills? People skills can be defined by a broad collection of attitudes, thought processes, and levels of awareness, which allow you to relate well to others. In business, having great people skills is tremendously important.

People skills closely relate to business topics such as business leadership, negotiation skills, and sales techniques. The world of business is full of relationships, and learning to form good relationships with the help of people skills will only serve to your benefit. Read the following four tips to help improve the way you relate to others.

Active Listening

It is highly important for others to be heard.  Active listening is the process of presenting occasional and one-line summaries of what the speaker is saying.  The process lets the speaker know you are listening and you understand their message.  Active listening is advantageous for both parties.  Imagine being a new employee taking directions from a boss.  Anxiety or nervousness may influence the new worker’s ability to listen to directions, yet participating in active listening would prompt the worker to concentrate on the boss’ message, reinforcing the worker’s memory and letting the boss know the worker clearly understands.

Smiling is Okay

How serious are you about business?  Could it be detrimental to be too serious?  It can be possible to be successful and jovial at the same time.  Many people who find themselves in a business leadership position struggle with implementing humor because humor has the reputation of being antithetical to business.  Proponents of enhancing people skills would suggest that smiling is okay.  Of course, it is expected to maintain professionalism at all times during the course of the business day, yet a professional can be successful and enjoy humor.  Sometimes, success is facilitated by humor due to a businessperson’s charismatic personality.

Empathize

When we have a remote sense of what others are experiencing, we are sympathizing, but we are empathizing when we can truly relate to the experience of others.  It is a great advancement in increasing your people skills when you can learn to put your self in another’s position or see things from their perspective.  Oftentimes, people may not relate or cannot remedy a situation because they do not attempt to place themselves in the other person’s position.  Empathizing increases awareness and can benefit business by helping people relate and inspiring workers to see various perspectives.

No Negativity

‘No negativity’ sounds cliche and obvious, yet maintaining a positive mindset is something to be conscious about each business day.  Some business people repeat mantras or slogans throughout the day to help them maintain their positivity.  Negativity has a bad influence on many business aspects such as negotiation skills, strategic selling, and people skills.  It is important to distinguish negativity from being critical.  The latter is needed in order to make business decisions, yet negativity is never ‘needed’ in business.  Keeping a positive mindset improves morale and inspires others to seek you for input and advice.

Marketing via Facebook, Twitter Yields Results for Some, Others Say It’s Overrated; ‘Hype Right Now Exceeds the Reality’

By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN

Last year, Jackie Siddall described in a blog post how a message she received on Twitter prompted her to buy a folding kayak for around $1,900.

The vessel was one of about just 600 sold in 2009 by Folbot Inc., a small retailer in Charleston, S.C. “You can’t buy that exposure,” says the firm’s co-owner, David AvRutick, who claims the incident speaks to the value of using social media for marketing.

But Mr. AvRutick’s experience may be the exception, rather than the norm. In its short lifetime, social media—services like Facebook and Twitter—have become popular marketing tools for small firms due to the low cost and easy-to-use format. Some entrepreneurs say they’re highly effective, but new evidence suggests otherwise.

“The hype right now exceeds the reality,” says Larry Chiagouris, professor of marketing at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business.

Last year, social-media adoption by businesses with fewer than 100 employees doubled to 24% from 12%, says a survey released in January of 2,000 U.S. entrepreneurs from the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business and Network Solutions LLC, a Web-services provider in Herndon, Va.

Meanwhile, a separate survey of 500 U.S. small-business owners from the same sponsors found that just 22% made a profit last year from promoting their firms on social media, while 53% said they broke even. What’s more, 19% said they actually lost money due to their social-media initiatives.

“It could harm you if you end up inadvertently saying something stupid, offensive or even grammatically incorrect,” says Mr. Chiagouris.

A business owner’s time and energy spent on social-media marketing—Folbot’s Mr. AvRutick says he dedicates about an hour a day—could also go to waste. Fifty percent of the latter survey’s respondents say it requires more effort than expected.

To gain positive results, entrepreneurs need to regularly interact with consumers through these sites and not simply create static profiles, says Jacob Morgan, co-owner of Chess Media Group Corp., a consulting firm in San Francisco that specializes in social media.

Some small businesses opt to hire outside firms to handle their social-media marketing or advise them on the best ways to use it, but such services can cost hundreds of dollars a month.

For Chris Lindland, owner of Cordarounds.com, an online clothing retailer in San Francisco, converting consumers into customers using social media has required a “patient investment.”

“My business has been visited millions of times, but I haven’t made millions of sales,” says Mr. Lindland, whose four-person staff spends up to 90 minutes a day managing Cordarounds’s accounts on Twitter and Facebook. “People have told me they finally got around to buying from my business after reading about it on social media two years ago.”

Some entrepreneurs say they’ve found early indicators that their social-media efforts are paying off.

“The people coming from social media have been buying,” says Stephen Bailey, who oversees social-media and other marketing initiatives for John Fluevog Boots & Shoes Ltd., a footwear and accessories retailer in Vancouver with about 100 employees.

As evidence, Mr. Bailey points to a 40% increase in online sales in 2009—the first full year the company engaged consistently in social-media marketing—compared with 2008 when it was just getting started. He says he can draw a correlation between those figures and social media by looking at traffic to the company’s Web site from Twitter using Hootsuite, a free Twitter-management service from Invoke Media Inc. Other free services that track Web traffic from social-media sites include Google Analytics, CoTweet and Lodgy.

“The second we started using social media, it became one of the biggest drivers of traffic outside of search engines,” says Mr. Bailey, adding that his research shows these visitors spend as much time on Fluevog.com as those who come from other online destinations. The company doesn’t invest in paid advertising on social media, he adds.

Other business owners are soliciting customer feedback and monitoring what’s being said about their firms to determine the impact of sites like Facebook and Twitter on consumers’ buying decisions.

Mr. AvRutick says he regularly searches Twitter for tweets that mention kayaking and then sends messages to the people who wrote them. He connected with Ms. Siddall, the blogger who credited Twitter for exposing her to Folbot, after she posted a tweet that mentioned she wanted a kayak.

Ms. Siddall, a 37-year-old senior designer for Idea Couture Inc., a creative-marketing agency in Toronto, says she was unaware that folding kayaks even existed until she heard from Mr. AvRutick. She spent the next few months researching different brands, which included perusing a networking forum on Folbot’s Web site about kayaking.

Ms. Siddall says she later asked Mr. AvRutick via Twitter if he would send her some photos of her folding kayak being made, and he provided about 20. After it arrived, she says she decided to write a blog post about the whole experience.

“I didn’t find the same level of information or communication online from the other brands,” she says.

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com

Effective communication is essential to ones career growth. It includes both conveying messages clearly and receiving messages clearly from others. Communications skills help you when presenting a weekly report to your team, completing a sales call to a possible client, emailing your boss, or chatting with coworkers. Although each situation requires a unique approach, there are some general communication tips that apply to all types of audiences.

Tip #1: Know the topic you are discussing. If you are giving a speech to a large group of people, be sure you are familiar with the subject. Or if you are sending an email to your boss, be sure to understand what you are asking or discussing. Your audience can easily pick up on a lack of knowledge and will not value your communication if detected.

Tip #2: Know the audience. There is a big difference speaking to a work friend in the break room and discussing a deal with a customer. You want to adapt to the situation and match your communication to the level that is needed. Not to say you should change who you are but understand that what you know and do not know about the audience. Are they knowledgeable on the topic? Do they have cultural differences? What are their expectations from you? How much do they know about you? These are the types of questions you want to ask yourself before deciding on a communication technique.

Tip #3: Use the right communication channel. These include face to face, telephone, video conference, and written (email, letter, memo, etc). If you are discussing a confidential topic, you would want to be sure you use a method that reaches only a qualified audience. If you are reporting on a long, in depth subject, a phone call might not allow proper interaction. Maybe graphs or displays would work better in a face to face meeting.

Tip #4: Be to the point, positive, and polite. Do not ramble on about unnecessary information or personal references when they are not needed because the audience will become distracted. Reflect the news, even if bad news, in a positive light. If you begin speaking negatively, people tend to get their back up or become worried about the topic. They will then pay less attention to whatever else you have to discuss. And, always remember your manners, they go a long way. An audience will become more receptive if they are treated well and feel respected. Being rude will create an instant barrier that is tough to get through.

Tip #5: Listen. Communication is not just about you talking, it is receiving information and feedback from others. Whether you ask a question and the audience is answering, you send an email and the recipient I responding, or you are getting the opinion of others in a team meeting, be sure to listen fully. If you do not comprehend what they say, ask questions or for them to repeat it. Listening will help you clearly understand your audience so that they will clearly understand you.

Communication skills can be learned overtime through your experiences or you can take part in a communication skills training. Many businesses or organizations offer training to their employees or members so that they can present themselves effectively.

Networking is one of the most crucial skills any start-up entrepreneur must have. It is an effective and inexpensive way to grow your business by meeting the key people who could become your clients, suppliers and support systems.

In fact, networking is the best marketing device of even the most cash-strapped home-based entrepreneur. It is based on an inexpensive endeavor using a simple skill: talking. As a result, networking is also referred to as “word-of-mouth marketing” because it is based on talking to people about what you do and listening to find out how to serve them. The best networkers do not even know that they are networking – they are simply being good conversationalists; adept at becoming visible; talking and responding, and getting to know people.

However, many people are put-off with the idea of networking. Some view the practice akin to “politicking” requiring an extremely outgoing personality willing to approach anyone who would care to listen. Many start-up entrepreneurs also have a hard time approaching other people – particularly strangers – about their business. It may be the fear of speaking out to a total stranger, or the fear of coming on too strong or aggressive. Others let their insecurities take the better or them, while some people fail to network simply because of laziness. As a result, many formal gatherings and social situations become lost opportunities to spread the word about their business.

Everyone you meet is a potential customer or a valuable contact. Well, maybe not the old lady you met in the library if you are selling shaving cream. But then again, that old lady may have a husband, son or nephew who could use your product. Marketing is simply spreading the word around, and it is a big loss if you continuously pass up opportunities for networking.

Schmoozing pays. In fact, the growth of any business is directly correlated to the number of people who knows about it. Doing more of networking allows you to develop more contacts in your field and to exchange information with your prospects. It can help you find out the concerns of your prospects and who is fulfilling them; what’s happening in your industry; and who needs what and who offers what. It is basically an entrepreneur’s tool for relationship building.

Successful networking entails harnessing your people skills. But it doesn’t happen overnight, particularly for those who are not natural social butterflies. It requires careful orchestration and good manners, too. Here are several steps to help you become an effective networker:

1. Prepare a plan. Networking goes beyond greeting people. You need to prepare a step-by-step plan for how you’ll build relationships and how you can effectively tell your story. It entails getting to know people who will either do business with you or can introduce you to people who will. When people ask you what you do, make sure you have a clever opening line to introduce yourself and your business.

2. Use social networking sites. LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com , Facebook http://www.facebook.com and even the microblogging site Twitter http://www.twitter.com are excellent venues for virtual networking. Whether you are looking for potential partners, web site or blog contributors, or strategic partnership opportunities, these social networking sites allow you to expand and nurture your network in the comfort of your computer screen. LinkedIn, in particular, is most suited for professional networking as you can easily see the work and business background of the person.

3. Learn to communicate more easily. To be a good networker, you need to work on your ability to make small talk. You need to be able to articulate what you do in clear, easily understandable, and memorable way. Imagine yourself in a cocktail party or industry luncheon full of potential prospects. Set a goal of meeting at least two people in one event, slowly increasing the number as you become more comfortable with the art of schmoozing. Once you are at an event, do not stand around with appetizers in hand waiting for other people to approach you. Go out, head straight to people you do not know, and start a conversation. This will help you gain the interpersonal communication skills that you need. You will defeat the purpose of networking if you continuously stick with familiar faces. Get interested in what others are offering or saying without being abrasive. Good networkers are good listeners, too.

4. Identify your prospects. Know your most likely market, and learn where you will find them. Research as much as you can from the ideal prospects for your business. How do they get their information? Do they live nearby? What activities do they participate in? What organizations do they belong to? The more you know about your customers, the easier you can reach them.

5. Start with people you know. Look at your roster of friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and people you have come across in your lifetime. From among your friends, identify whom you think might be able to help you the most.

6. Get involved. A key to successful networking is to get involved and grow your people skills. Participate in organizations, events, professional groups and social clubs that offer opportunities for you to meet and greet. Participate in numerous networking groups, join your chamber of commerce, and attend conferences and training seminars. With the advent of the Internet, you can also network in online newsgroups and discussion boards. The key is to list every opportunity to network and develop win-win relationships with your contacts.

7. Make networking a part of you. Make it a point to meet new people wherever you go – whether you are on the plane, waiting in line at the bank, or fetching your child from school. Be generous in giving away your business cards, it’s an effective selling technique.

An established business has the luxury of satisfied customers spreading the word about the business. Until your business is self-sustaining, you need to start opening your mouth, spreading the word about your venture to all your friends, relatives, acquaintances, then later on, even strangers.

by Isabel M. Isidro Brought to you by DLDESIGNSONLINE.COM