You know that little thing called “social media”?  Use it!  My pal Les linked to this great story about how to build a fan base on facebook for your business.  The first rule? Ask people to like you:

Give them a reason why. In our case, Weekly World News has plenty of entertaining content about aliens, Michael Jackson, Elvis, you name it. We tried capitalizing the word “LIKE”, writing short versus long copy, testing dozens of images, and trying out different interest targets. Don’t make it complex– keep the language casual, as if a friend was telling you about something cool.

Read the whole article! Great advice!

If all commercials were this honest, I probably wouldn’t mute all of them!

One of the most difficult aspects of owning your own business is committing to a schedule.  This can mean many things, depending on the nature of your business.  But, for all of us, there comes a time when our “normal”, money making tasks are slowed, and we witness some “down time”.  Frequently, this times goes to waste, and not much is accomplished.  But as time has passed, we’ve learned to use this time to our advantage. 

My husband’s business is 100% mobile, and his work is done outdoors.  So obviously, rainy, drizzly, or snowy days are slow.  Use of this time has become essential in keeping up the “paper” side of the company.  Patrick uses these days to catch up his books, make deposits, make follow-up phone calls, and set appointments.  We try to use our unusually slow days to brainstorm marketing strategies, as well. 

These days won’t always fall into your perfect schedule, and you’ll probably have to take a few “regular” days to do some of this, as well.  But don’t look negatively at your down days.  Look at them as opportunities. You never know what’s at the end of that rainbow!

Photo by Peter Kaminski via Flickr Creative Commons.

I actually just have a quick note here where phone book advertising is concerned.  Did you know that the online services offerered by the phone books can be purchased separately from that expensive ad printed in the books?  The sales guys with several of the local books were all over us…but those ads in the books are quite costly.  Finally, after realizing that we weren’t going to purchase thousands of dollars worth of written ads, they let us in on their little secret.  Advertising online only costs just a fraction of the book price! 

I’m not saying here that the books themselves are not useful, just more costly than some can afford.  Many people never open a book to find a phone number anymore, so we figured this was a pretty good deal!  Ask up front when exploring this kind of marketing.  It’ll save you a lot of time and money!

Photo by How Can I Recycle This via Flickr Creative Commons.

Yesterday I claimed business cards as one of my favorite marketing tools.  Today I expand my list of favorites.  I am really a big fan of what I like to call “favors”.  Similar to party favors given away at a party, these are those little “goodies” that you pick up free at fairs, parades, community gatherings, etc.  Now, there are all kinds, and definitely some are most useful than others.  My favorite favors include, but are not limited to, pens and pencils, magnets, post-its, clips, and rulers. 

All of these tools can be used everyday, therefore allowing exposure of your company name.  And since they can be used everyday, and someone has taken the time to pick them up from you, they are usually less likey to throw them away.  In the same way as the business cards, they’re a convenient go-to tool when a need arises. 

 What’s the down side?  Sometimes they can get pricey.  They vary in color, size, weight, etc., and the prices reflect those differences.  I’ve found pens that cost over $10 each.  So, you have to choose carefully and plan for the purpose of each.  For instance, basic, one color magnets are very reasonable.  Consider purchasing these as handouts at an event, along with some inexpensive pencils and pens.  Purchase a few of the higher quality pens or desk tools for those customers you see often.  For instance, we have an awesome insurance company that has given us countless referrals.  They get the good stuff! 

So, when considering your marketing tools, whether they are simple business cards, “favors”, or full-page ads in the phone book, remember to consider their purpose and their audience.  Think about how each will be used and it’s “shelf life”.  Be careful about the decisions you make, but remember to always show appreciation to those who help or have helped grow your business.  They ARE your best marketing tool!

Photo by steakpinball via Flickr Creative Commons.

Last week, I discussed the ups and downs of advertising, and it’s importance in the success of small businesses.  I’ve decided to expand a little and discuss some of these marketing tools individually.

One of the easiest, and perhaps most inexpensive, forms of marketing is the business card.  Many companies offer great deals on starter cards, and Vista Print even has a large number of cards free.  We leave our cards EVERYWHERE! 

• At restaurants with our tip (not recommended if you’re a bad “tipper”)
• Bulletin boards whenever we see one
• Any giveaway “bowl” offering a prize for a drawing
• Hairstylists
• under the wiper or tucked into the window of a car with broken glass
• in the offering plate at church…JUST KIDDING…Were you paying attention???

We leave our business cards with ANYONE with whom we exchange phone numbers.  Business cards are a perfect size to tuck in your wallet and keep with you.  You see it briefly as you fumble trying to find cash, your license, or a credit card.  But when the day comes that you need that particular service, you have to go no further than your purse or pocket.

Photo by vectorfunk via Flicker Creative Commons.

I am pleased to introduce Mandi as the newest writer for the Shak family.  Please make her feel at home as she shares her experiences both in running a small business and supporting her husband as he started his own.

This month marks the two year anniversary of the debut of our family’s business. We celebrate that we made it past that one-year mark, which so many small businesses never see. At times, though, we cringe at some of the decisions we have made…and hope we make more informed decisions in the future!

One of our biggest struggles has been in choosing the appropriate form of advertising. There are so many avenues to explore…

From newspaper, television commercials, and internet ads to phone books, online business locators, and those bi-monthly coupon books, there are advertising options at every turn. And you can’t overlook all of the smaller, give-away items. We’ve seen so many…business cards, pens, pencils, paper clips, mugs, glasses, matchbooks, sticky notes, letterhead, postcards, desk calendars, magnets…should I go on???

If you’re not careful, you can blow your first year budget on these “favor” goodies alone!

We were warned that spending too much on advertising is a common problem, and we were even advised to “stick to the basics.” So we were faced with defining and covering our basic advertising needs.

We immediately started gathering all the information we could on every different kind of media we could find. We advertised in the phone book and online in various forms. We purchased business cards, car signs, ball caps, pens, etc.  Our theory was that it takes money to make money. We needed these “basic” tools to get the business recognized, right?

We felt almost giddy as the boxes arrived and we looked through all of our “goodies” with ANDERSON AUTO GLASS printed boldly on everything from refrigerator magnets to magnetic car door signs. We were ready for the multitude of phone calls that would soon begin. We got a few calls the first week…then a few the next…and a few the next…and so on. But we were never so busy that we even got to put anyone on hold!

What about all of those brightly colored fliers we put out over three neighborhoods?  What about all that time we spent distributing them?  We started getting a little nervous. So, we took advantage of another great opportunity to get our name out there…we paid $800 to advertise on one of those things people come around and hang on your door.

We finally got some calls.  Yep, five.  All from sales reps from other companies wanting our business. NOT A SINGLE CUSTOMER came out of that “investment!”

“The sales lady said the landscaping company got tons of business from it,” my husband told me over dinner one night.  And that’s when it all made sense.  Of course the landscaping guy got business. These ads were handed out at the beginning of the summer, it was his season.  Our business, although a little busier in the warmer months, has no specific season - auto glass is need based.

Choice of advertising should be based on the nature of the business!!!!   Is that a profound finding, or what? It took us almost a year and a half to figure that out! But as I’ve spoken with other small business owners of all sorts, I’ve found that most started with those same basics, and all had to learn the hard way!

So, when trying to decide on your most beneficial advertising method, ask yourself one question…

As a customer, where would you look to find this service?

If a baseball goes through my back window, I’m going to use the easiest, quickest methods to find someone to fix it.  However, if I’m planning a wedding that will take place in a year, I may have more time to explore other, more time consuming areas. If I’m looking for a great value on dinner, I’ll look through my coupon book. But if my need is for a walk-in clinic that offers x-ray equipment, I’m more likely to do a quick search online.

In short, there isn’t one form of advertising that is better than all the others. Re-evaluate your needs every six months or so.  At some point, you may find that your customer base is so large, you are better off to go with a coupon mailing. You may discover that business cards, passed along by your customers, have brought you more referrals than you can handle! Two years down the road, you may decide to go with something completely different.

So, if you know your business and are familiar with the tools available to market it, you have a great start. The key is to stand back and look at the whole picture, determining what is best at a particular time. Once your needs have been determined, there are countless advertising venues just waiting to be traveled!

SO…I don’t watch many Wes Anderson films, and I don’t use an American Express card. But it’s still a fun commercial to see.

Happy Friday!

There are a number of work from home scams floating around out there, from the “Google Jobs” scam to different networking marketing scams. While there are some legitimate marketing scams, including MLM, it is important to note that you still need to be careful. You want to be careful to avoid scams that could turn your home business dream into a nightmakre.

Online Home Business Idea recommends that you take the following steps to avoid work from home network marketing scams:

* Research the company to make sure that it is established, and has a track record of several years. Check with the BBB for complaints.

* Look at the products being promoted. Are they useful? Would you want to buy the products? Be wary of products that offer some sort of “miracle”, “cure”, or “amazing money making potential”.

* Check with others who have done this, probing them for how they make their money, and proof that they are earning well.

You can never be 100% sure that something will work out. But you do need to be careful. Do your homework, and if something doesn’t feel right, or if it seems too good to be true, stay away.

When you have a home business, it can be very helpful to have a blog. This can serve as a way to draw traffic, and to help you build a loyal community. Easton at Visionary Blogging offers some helpful hints on improving your blog community:

1. Create something worthy of interest: Have good content, a good product or some other draw. You want your community to be interested in, well, becoming your blog community.

2. Get people to use your blog: Invite people to stop by. This includes asking friends to “fan” your home business blog’s page on Facebook, among other things.

3. Ask people to share: You can ask your followers and current community to share your blog with others.

4. Reward: There needs to be some sort of reward, from praise to freebies to some other sort of kudos, you need to let your blog community know that you appreciate them.