Coming up with ideas for new blog posts on a regular basis can be a challenge, even for the most prolific writers. Experience shows that readers tend to favor certain types of posts more than others. Here are some popular types of blog posts that you might want to use for those times when inspiration simply does not strike.

Lists
Lists are loved by readers. Top 10 lists, lists of top resources, lists of tools, lists of important dates, etc. Really, just about any type of list will tend to be very popular with blog readers. And you can easily craft lists from popular posts and other resources.

Ideas for Blogs

Professionally designed business cards that can be customized to suit your needs. Select business card designs by theme or  industry. The business cards are inexpensive and high-quality.

There are a wide variety of things you can do in regard to blog promotion. Here are just a few...

1. Optimize
Optimize the blog using standard search engine optimization techniques, so that it performs well in the organic rankings of the various search engines.

Blog Promotion Tips

Now you have decided to podcast do you need tools to get the job done? We recommend the Podcasting Bundle.

RecordForAll and FeedForAll makes it simple to record audio files, layer audio files, edit audio files and publish podcast feeds.

The podcasting software bundle is a complete podcasting solution!

Podcasting is the process of creating an audio show of some sort available in MP3 format via an RSS 2.0 feed that supports enclosures. Podcasts are designed to include talk shows, tutorials, music, or other audio content.

Learn All About Podcasting!

If you need a professional logo checkout the logo designs available at Logo Search.

You can modify the logo designs to meet your business needs and add your company name. Logos are only $9.95. The download includes logos that are 1200 x 1200 pixels and five formats including: .jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .and .tif.

Testimonials are essentially 3rd-party endorsements for a product or service. Potential customers will often look for testimonials when faced with a purchasing decision. Customer testimonials can increase sales closing rates by removing uncertainty and instilling confidence in the customer. Additionally, testimonials that describe solutions for real-life problems can be very well received by others that may be struggling with similar issues.

Customer Testimonials and Profiles

Half of small businesses have not taken action to prepare for disasters that are prone to happen in their areas, according to a new survey from FedEx Corp. and the American Red Cross. In addition, slightly more than half 51% have not practiced evacuations or other emergency drills, and almost half 47% have not communicated employee roles for the business in a disaster.

Further, while 40% of small businesses do not believe they could fully recover within six months if their business was completely destroyed in a disaster, fewer than one third 29% of those surveyed are prepared if a disaster disrupts their business for just one month.

Additionally, the majority of small businesses may not fully realize how a disaster could impact one of their greatest resources—their employees. Seventy-seven percent have not taken steps to encourage employees to create disaster preparedness plans for their homes and families.

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It is not just large businesses that are looking to cutting-edge technologies such as virtualization, cloud computing  and mobile devices to beef up their disaster preparedness capabilities. A significant number of small- and medium-size businesses are adopting these innovations as well, a new survey shows. And the move is paying off for them.

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Integrated marketing can mean different things to different people and in different markets. But in general, its about managing marketing through multiple channels to create a single message.

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If you work for a small business there is a good chance that, since the recession, you have taken on additional responsibilities and are working longer hours. Some of the work that used to be done by fellow employees may be getting farmed out to freelancers or other independent contractors.

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According to Entrepreneur Magazine there are between 25 million and 27 million small businesses in the U.S. that account for 60 to 80 percent of all U.S. jobs. And, a recent study by Paychex, says that small businesses produce 13 times more patents that larger firms.

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Whenever you dispose of a business asset, whether you junk it, sell it, lose it, donate it, trade it in, get it repossessed, destroyed, or converted to personal use, you may have a taxable event. The decision might not be taxable, but it is usually reportable and sometimes you might enjoy something of a tax refund.

Every year when compiling your tax data for your tax pro, you probably bypass a page entitled Assets or something similar in the organizer.

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Whether you run a two man shop or a fifty strong company, having general business liability insurance may be a necessity. Small business owners may not think they need this type of insurance, but end up getting sued and you may think again.

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Engagement Marketing: How Small Business Wins in a Socially Connected World is the new book about how to get and keep customers by engaging with them.

I love the premise of this book because it is utterly realistic for small businesses.  Engagement marketing, according to the book, is the art of “getting new customers through your existing customers, while driving more repeat sales at the same time.”    It’s about serving your existing customers well, and deepening your relationship with them by engaging on social media and online.  The outgrowth is a stronger customer bond and more satisfied customers.  That leads to natural word-of-mouth — and more repeat business and sales to new customers who learned about you through existing customers.  And in fact, referrals and word of mouth are how many small businesses get new business today.

The second thing I like is the marketing blueprint that the book lays out. Chapter 1 starts with the “engagement marketing cycle” — a framework for growing sales with the help of social media.  Think of it as a 3-step process:

• Step 1 is that you provide a great experience to existing customers — the book calls it a WOW! experience.  As the book points out, customers unfortunately have come to expect mediocre service and the bar is low.  Small businesses, being nimbler and able to make changes more quickly than larger companies, are in a better position to make changes to create exceptional service.
• Step 2 is to entice customers to stay in touch. This is about persuading customers to opt in and stay in touch — whether through email marketing or via social media such as Twitter, Facebook or Google+.  When customers want to stay in touch, you are able to keep that great experience alive and stay top of mind.
• Step 3 is to engage people.  Engaging people means sharing content on your blog or social media channels that inspires followers.  It’s about interacting with followers on those channels through encouraging them to participate.  It means holding events or doing surveys — activities that actively involve them.

“Developing this cycle until it’s a well-oiled machine,” says the book, is what will lead to more sales by increasing repeat sales and referrals.

Everything in this book is practical, including a chapter on overcoming common obstacles. Obstacle #3, for example, will resonate with many business owners: “I don’t like imposing on people.”  But as the author explains, one way to overcome that is to focus on creating great “enticement offers” such as a coupon or free report to persuade people to sign up for your email list or follow your Facebook account.  Then you’re not imposing – you’re giving people something they want.

There’s even a Quick Start Guide and a Glossary to help you get up to speed quickly on the sometimes baffling terms (like “hashtag’” or “plus one”) in social media.

Most of the book concentrates on pointing out techniques to help you learn how to engage people through social media, email marketing, blogs, events and other activities.  And that’s the third thing I like about Engagement Marketing.   Intead of talking in generalities, the book explains what types of content  to share on social networks, the types of activities to perform to engage with people on social media — and similar useful lessons.  It can help you put the building blocks of a social media strategy and action plan in place.  It answers the “why” and also the “how.”

The book is filled with examples, including screenshots and images.  Examples are ones that most small businesses could attempt on a small budget or with a small team (or even no team).  The book avoids one of my pet peeves: using big-budget corporate marketing campaigns as case studies.  While I appreciate that Ford may be doing brilliant things in social media, a Ford marketing campaign will be so out my company’s budget that we couldn’t hope to emulate it.  Small business examples like the ones in Engagement Marketing are more useful.

About the Author

If you or your company are one of the hundreds of thousands of small businesses usiing Constant Contact, then the author’s name is likely familiar.  Gail Goodman (@Gail_Goodman on Twitter)  is the CEO of Constant Contact (an occasional advertiser on this site).  Goodman architected her company’s expansion from an email marketing provider, to one that now includes tools for social media marketing, surveys, event marketing and mobile marketing. She brings vision and subject matter expertise to this book.

Who Should Read Engagement Marketing

This book is ideal for a small business or non-profit with anywhere from 0 to 100 employees, and even larger.

I highly recommend reading Engagement Marketing if you:

• are scratching your head trying to figure out why your organization should get involved in social media, or
• are already convinced of the value of social media, but you just want someone to explain how to integrate it with the rest of your marketing and develop an achievable strategy, or
• want someone to demystify social media and show you and your team how to jump in and get started.

From Small Business Trends

Why You Should Read Engagement Marketing

I’m not here to tell you which marketing firm to use. Rather, I’d like to offer you some pointers on what to look for when hiring a marketing firm. I believe the search starts with you. Ask yourself some foundational questions to get a handle on what you are looking for.

Those questions include:

• Who is your target audience?
• Where are they geographically?
• Where and how do they access information?
• What do you hope to achieve?

Now give some thought to what kind of marketing help you need. This can change as your business changes. You may start in one place and then realize you need other things.

For example, starting with branding makes sense. Once you have your brand identity you may be ready for help with advertising or PR. So, what do you need right now? This is a critical question because not all marketing firms are created equal. Some specialize and some are generalists. Some excel in certain areas and others offer a combination of services:

• Branding:  logo design, business cards, literature, and web design.
• Social Marketing:  Facebook Fan Pages, LinkedIn business pages, Twitter accounts, Pinterest, and overall social marketing plans and execution.
• Advertising: print, radio, TV, billboards, or internet ads.
• Public relations: press releases, event coverage, securing interviews on TV, radio, or internet radio, and gaining exposure for product launches, grand openings, anniversaries.

Determine what you need right now. You may also want to think about your marketing needs along a continuum – what you need now, a few months from now, next year. This can help you when you are interviewing potential firms.

One of the most critical parts of finding marketing help is doing your research. There are so many companies in this space. Finding the right one(s) takes a commitment of time and energy on your part.

A good deal of marketing is subjective. They may be considered one of the greatest firms in town, but if you don’t like their design or end product, they aren’t right for you.

Explore the following:

1. Type of firm: do you want a firm that specializes in the type of marketing help you need right now or would you prefer a firm that covers a variety of marketing methods?

2. Do you want a firm that has expertise in your industry or is that not an issue for you?

3. Does their location matter to you? Would you prefer a firm that is local?

4. What is your budget? Is it realistic for what you need? How does that limit the prospective marketing firm pool?

5. Method value: what is their viewpoint on the various marketing methods ? For example, if you want to gain national exposure and believe that gaining interviews on internet radio is a good marketing venue for you, does the firm you are looking at share your belief? AND, do they have that expertise?

Now that you know what you are looking for it’s time to interview potential candidates. Find 3-5 companies that look like they fit your needs. Develop a list of questions you can ask to divine whether they really are the right match for you. Those questions include asking for samples of their work, asking for links to sites they’ve created if you are looking for web design, and how they manage their clients.

If you are looking for help with search engine optimization or search engine marketing, ask them how they handle this for their clients. You’ll find some companies that haven’t really gained a grip on how to help companies with today’s page rankings. The more you know, the better off you’ll be.

Interview some of their clients. Ask about timeliness and follow through. How long have they been in business? How long have they been doing the kind of marketing you need? Remember that a lot of firms have had to adapt to the new landscape. Some have done this well and others, not so much. By asking specific, pointed questions you can find out how skilled they are, and therefore, how well they’ll be able to deliver what you need.

Example: I have an associate who needed an e-commerce website. She had very specific needs and was quite clear about what they were. She met a web designer at a networking event who told her they could do the job. She didn’t take the time to ask her questions, or research the sites they’d done for other clients. She just hired them. Not only did they have trouble delivering the end product, but their communication was lacking. They didn’t understand some of the basic things she asked for. By the time she realized they were the wrong firm, she’d invested months with them. Those were months she was without her e-commerce website.

And by all means, trust your gut! If you don’t feel like they are strong with their answers, or there’s something about their work that just doesn’t sit right with you, walk away. You don’t have to be able to quantify the feeling. Just the fact that you have it is reason enough to look elsewhere.

Finding the right marketing help is something that takes time, energy, and research. You have to learn some things about the industry so you can identify the good firms. Anyone can tell a good story and do a good sales job. What you want to know is how well can they deliver on what you need. Marketing is a field that is changing quickly.

Marketing firms need to stay ahead of the curve, adapt to the new environment, and share their level of expertise honestly with their prospects. You, as the prospect, need to be able to discern who is doing that, and who isn’t.

Searching Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Pointers on Hiring a Marketing Firm for Your Small Business

Social networks have overtaken local directories such as Yellow Pages and Thomson and print advertising in the UK as the main way small businesses seek out new customers, according to research published on Monday.

Over one-third of UK small businesses say that they now use Facebook to market their products and services, compared to 27 per cent that rely on local directories for their advertising.

Twitter has also become popular with UK-based small businesses and their owners – over one-in-six use micro blogging service to scout for new customers and to market their services. As a result Twitter is fast catching up with those who say they use print 21% and online advertising 20% advertising for their marketing.

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If you have got a new product or service that you are trying to sell, you may want to think about giving it away to begin with. In a new survey, 42 percent of consumers said they pay for new products and services after they have experienced them for free. The so-called freemium business model is the way a pantheon of marquee brands, from Ancestry.com to Words with Friends, first gained traction in the marketplace.

The freemium business model involves giving away a basic version of a product or service....

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The complexity of preparing a business for sale can be overwhelming. But advance preparation by the owner likely will lead to more interested buyers, an increased sale price and fewer transaction costs.

After all, buyers are attracted to profitable businesses that are easy to evaluate and operate. For this reason, spending time and resources on completing the following seven steps is worthwhile for most owners:

Get financials in order. Up-to-date, accurate financial statements including balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements and tax returns should be readily available for buyers to review. Historical financial statements and tax returns also should be ready for disclosure, and a seller should have explanations for any past or present issues. Buyers tend to request this type of information first and will likely evaluate it fully before spending any time looking at other components of the business. Many buyers walk away from deals at this stage because of poor record-keeping, questionable tax practices or lack of information.

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Experian has launched a new service to help small businesses quickly evaluate new customers for payment risk, monitor to see if risk changes, and collect past due amounts.

The product is an online subscription service called BusinessIQ Express.  It is an all-in-one dashboard to help you quickly evaluate companies that are customers and prospective customers.