Archive for the ‘Marketing Strategies’ Category

 Awhile back I came across this fantastic site called websitegrader.com.  It is site that looks at your site from an SEO perspective and gives you a grade on the effectiveness of your website and it’s ability to be found.

 I love this site because not only does it give you a grade and suggestions for improvement to your site, you can also put in your competition and get the grade for their websites, the keywords they are using and the amount of incoming links and ranking they have.

 This competitive research can be very valuable in helping you build your site.

 Now, why I am giving this to you as a BLAST Resource, is that the company who makes this program (Hubspot) has added graders for all of your social media sites and provides you with suggestions to improve your online visibility.

 Pretty cool.  Check it out – http://grader.com

Are you one of those people who work on multiple computers and walk around with USB flash drives or emailed files?  My tool this week is all about file synchronization with instant access.

Introducing.. Dropbox.

Just install Dropbox on as many computers you want to use files and it will create a special folder on your computer that you will have access to.  You can put all of your documents, files, videos, anything  inside this special folder and it will sync across any machine that you installed Dropbox on.

You can even create secured folders to share with workteams, VA’s or vendors that everyone has access to really streamlining your production process.  And… drumroll please…… it is FREE for up to 2 GB’s with paid plans as you need more space (which are also inexpensive)

Here are some selling points:

• You can view and download your files online from any web browser
• You have a public folder to share files with anyone, no account required
• It maintains file versions for up to 30 days
• It runs automatically offline and on line with instant messaging to tell you files have been added
• It is reliable and easy to use.

If you need to sync multiple computers, work with a virtual team, or need a back up of your files, you want to check out Dropbox.

Listen to what Bruce Clinton of Business Wise System has to say about Kellie DAndrea and BLAST.

Susan Creal of Transforming Women Now is a big fan of Kellie D’Andrea’s BLAST Program. Here what she has to say.

In today’s economy many business owners are faced with tough decisions that will streamline their business to save a few dollars without compromising service. As unemployment hits an all time high and people and businesses are not spending as much as they did in years past, what can a small business do to survive in a tough economy?

1. Become the ultimate deal maker: With everyone pinching pennies and looking for new ways to save money, this is a great time to offer excellent deals for your products or services. Now is the time for you to be strategic about making deals with your customers, vendors and service partners. In fact, try bartering for services, ad space or product. Every business is looking for ways to save money so do not be afraid to renegotiate contracts with your current vendors and to offer more value to keep your current customers.

2. Look for efficiencies: Take a look at all of the processes in your business and see if there are ways to streamline and become more efficient. Look for areas that are manually heavy tasks and see if there is an opportunity to automate. Look for areas that are paper heavy and duplicated and see if you can tighten up. Combine like tasks for greater productivity and do not shy away from investment opportunities that may reduce your overall labor in future periods. For example, investing in technology that could would reduce labor by 50%. Although there is an upfront outlay of cash, the investment will pay for itself.

3. Up your marketing: Now is the time to increase your marketing. Studies have shown that in times of a downward companies, small business that increase marketing have a greater chance of growing their business since there are so many business owners that cut back on their marketing. Here is a great opportunity to stand out from your competition and grab more market share. Marketing is a process and a continuous one so to get customers in your sales funnel, you need to continue to market your business. Read the rest of this entry »