People are different — and that's fantastic news. Not everyone has the same favorite color, likes the same food, enjoys the same activities, or laughs at the same jokes. Thank goodness that's the case, or life would be pretty boring. …

Expanding can be one of the most exciting things for a business. With many businesses turning to ecommerce, it's now easier than ever to grow quickly and relatively inexpensively, particularly in markets overseas. But when you've got the world at …

The story goes that in ancient times (B.C. – and I don't mean before computers) women of ill repute would have a symbol carved on the sole of their sandals. As they walked through the dirt and mud of the …

New media, which encompasses all aspects of online marketing, such as social media marketing, blogging, comment marketing, and more, is everywhere we look these days. It's almost impossible to find ads even in traditional media that don't point to a …

Social media marketing is a great way to network and share information.

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers." Brand is lofty term that means a lot for …

For years, Costco has made an art out of the Treasure Hunt with up to 20% of its total stock being items of strictly limited quantity which may only be present in the store for a week. Some of the …

Search engines are essential for getting your site noticed; however, it is an enormous challenge to optimize your site when you don't have the resources or tools necessary. With these tools, you can optimize your page both on and off …

Marketing is an essential part of running a business, often overlooked or poorly implemented due to busy-ness of the Owner, this gets looked upon as money draining out of the business. On the other hand, if done right and implemented …

“Go west, young man, and grow up with the country.” This famous quote, attributed to 19th century newspaper editor Horace Greeley (but actually originated by John Soule), was responsible for countless thousands of young men and women heading toward the …

In the heart of an economy that's far from healthy and a growing number of unemployed in the U.S., it's no wonder that daily deals websites like Groupon and Living Social are an attractive solution for businesses and consumers alike.  …

As part of the social media generation, it's probably a given that you're already using it to further your business efforts. Those little 'likes', follows (and more recently +1s) can really get your business known. It seems simple enough. Set …

With all the information that's coming at us from all directions these days, it can be difficult to discern which marketing methods are effective, from those that aren't. This is especially true when you consider the myths that are perpetuated …

I’m often surprised when otherwise business savvy entrepreneurs tell me they are interested in building a Web presence but can't articulate the reasons why. Invariably, it turns out, their goals are mostly the same: driving traffic and converting visitors into …

Too many people in the small business world believe in the saying, "It takes money to make money."  While it would be nice to have a huge ad budget, the truth is that most of us don't start out with …

If your startup can't be bothered with social media, or has no plan to take advantage of it, then you are definitely at risk these days.  But simply jumping in is not enough. Before you start spending money and time …

You’ve got a great idea, now how can you make your business grow rapidly? The fact is that most products and services are easily exportable, and the easiest way to do that is over the web. For a small amount …

Today's marketplace is constantly evolving. It's vibrant and dynamic, irrespective of the state of the economy. It's part-real, part-virtual. And this environment has been a breeding ground for independent-minded and independent professionals, making it incredibly important to stand out. Personal …

Formerly known as "The Six Pillars of Internet Marketing" and having undergone several stages of evolution over the past 10 years, the "7 Pillars of Digital Marketing" is a framework for the learning, strategy, budgeting, execution and analysis of the …

We hear about the importance of business plans all the time, and many entrepreneurs would never think of launching a new venture without one. Most startups carefully plan production, distribution and delivery, and even internal culture. When it comes to …

By now, you know how important it is to have a blog, right? Whatever business you're in, blogging is a must. It helps you and your business in so many ways. Blogging can bring more traffic to your site, help …

The purpose of a white paper is to deliver information about your business to your prospect in an educational format. You should pick a topic that will generate awareness to a problem your services are designed to address. At the …

Shred your marketing plan? Are we advocating doing away with marketing plans? No. Shred it and start over! Unless your marketing plan was created within the last two years, it is obsolete and needs to be reborn. It used to …

When you first launch a personal brand it can often take longer than you would expect to gain traction. We have unrealistic expectations for how long it should take us to reach a certain number of Twitter followers or fans …

It's an all-too-common scenario found in online marketing nowadays. An entrepreneur turns to social media to grow business revenues and decides to setup a Twitter or Facebook account.  Without any real strategy or knowledge of how to effectively use either …