Alert Blog Reviews

One of the problems that small businesses run into on a frequent basis is how to increase their monthly sales without stepping outside of their marketing budget.  This is due to the fact that most small businesses have either a very small marketing budget or no budget for marketing at all.  If you are in the situation where there is no money for advertising even though you desperately need to spread the word about your company you may want to consider using affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is a win-win marketing tool since it is a great way to spread the word about your business and help show your customers that you care about them and reward them for their efforts. The way that affiliate marketing works is simple and much less complicated than the term may appear to be.  At its core affiliate marketing is simply the task of getting your customers to advertise for your company in whatever way they fit and rewarding them for each sale they make as a result of their efforts. Most of the time affiliate marketing is used online by spreading a link for your website around the web along with recommendations.  It is your affiliate’s job to speak about your business and promote your products, and in return each time that someone makes a purchase from your website using their link you agree to pay them a commission on the sale or offer them a discount or reward certificate.  This is turn will increase your sales and offer you new business that in turn may decide to be affiliates bringing in more long term business. The best part of offering an affiliate service outside of gaining new customers, is that since it works based on the word of mouth principle is the customers that you gain tend to be long lasting.  Since customers trust their friends opinions they will not only make one small purchase, but may in fact purchase several items or services in one go which will make them even more valuable to your company.

More:
Affiliate marketing: How to earn a lot without spending a lot

Twitter contests can be a great way of getting you or your brand noticed in the Twittersphere. Yes, they can be annoying when everyone is spamming retweets left and right, but who doesn’t love having the chance of winning a Macbook Pro or an LCD TV for 2 seconds of work? Explosive Twitter contest campaigns like the one launched by site builder Moonfruit (@moontweet) rocked the twitter world (the UK company used twitter to give out 10 macbooks over the course of 10 days). In fact, there was even evidence that Twitter censored the #moonfruit hashtag used for the contest because it was getting too popular for its own good! Till this day (months after the contest has been over), people are still adding #moonfruit into their tweets.  Trying to emulate Moonfruit’s success, many other twitter users have launched similar contests. Let’s look at one of them right now: Business phone service provider OnSIP (@onsip) launched their own twitter contest a few hours ago, pledging to give out 2 Netbooks to those who retweeted about the contest. How many more followers have they gotten? I count 5. Not 5000. Not 500. Not 50. Just 5. Wait, are you telling me that only 5 people in the twitter world want a free netbook? That’s pretty hard to swallow… Well if that’s not the case, then what could they have done differently? Here are some suggestions and observations for their twitter campaign and any future twitter contests you may plan on holding. 1) Twitter contests rely on momentum. If you tweet something and its retweeted by active followers who also have active followers, then great–you’re already halfway there. If that’s not the case, then your contest can die extremely quickly, and you’re left in an awkward position wondering what went wrong. If you currently, don’t have a very active twitter follower base, then try to see if you can host your contest on the site of a friend who does have one. On twitter, one really popular tweeter makes all the difference. 2) Recognizable prizes. Moonfruit was a phenomenal success. Why? Well partially because they said they were going to give away 10 Macbooks. Pretty much everyone in the Twitterverse without one wants one. One misstep OnSIP might have committed is the decision to go with netbooks. A lot of the population may still be unfamiliar with the term. If you don’t have the funds to offer such lavish prizes, then I would suggest giving away something else you know your followers will value. For example, discounts or special offers for followers. A lot of contests also pledge to give out a bigger prize once a certain follower count has been reached. For example, @onsip pledges to give away another Netbook if they reach 1000 followers. 3) KISS. No–don’t offer kisses. KISS stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. Don’t make people jump through hoops to enter your contest. Moonfruit’s contest essentially consisted of asking people to follow their twitter, and add “#moonfruit” to their tweets. That’s it. Asking people to tweet you their social security number, mother’s date of birth, and favorite color is a no-no. So there you have it. 3 basic rules to follow. I’m not promising you you’ll get 100000 followers if you do just those things, but at least it will get you started in the right direction. And good luck to @onsip . Right now if you enter their twitter contest , you have around a 40% chance of winning a Netbook. © 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips . Do’s and Don’ts of Twitter Contests — The Moonfruits and the non

More:
Do’s and Don’ts of Twitter Contests — The Moonfruits and the non

Okay, so hopefully everyone’s gotten used to the new design and layout around here by now! Honestly, we’re really loving it. We did “tone down” the graph paper background a bit, after some feedback from readers that said it was a bit too dizzying. Hope everyone agrees that things look great here now! So this post is to outline the newest way we’re accepting articles from you. A few things have changed, and there have been a few submissions that don’t quite seem to be working properly, so I wanted to put this out there to help out some. First and foremost, if you’d like to submit an article for TwiTip (and see your face “up in lights” on our sidebar and on the post itself) then you need to submit it here: Add A Tip . We’ve got a whole new format now that I think is pretty rockin’. Before, you’d email me your “pitch” and then I’d send you the guidelines, and then you’d write it and submit back. Then I’d have to put the post into the back end, format it (because typically posts would be sent written in Microsoft Word, and that puts really icky code into WordPress), and then post it. Now, you simply go to the form, fill out the fields, and submit! I get notification, and if the post is approved, I do a little font formatting and all is well! The coolest part, is that if you know basic HTML, you can submit your post in HTML. Or you can write it in your own blog editor, and copy the HTML version and paste that in there. That saves even more time, because then all the formatting is done, and I can just read and publish. The whole point of setting up this form this way was so that we could get more content in from you guys, and get it published more quickly than before. So far, it’s been a great tool to have here on the site, and you can consider this the official “Open for Business” invite to submit all your great Twitter related posts! Just keep in mind a few basic things: It cannot be a post you’ve already published elsewhere. We want original content that’s only ever going to appear here. You also shouldn’t plan on, or allow others to publish it on any other site after the fact. Also, don’t submit links to your site, or to your already published post, please. If you have images you want to include, send them to Lara [at] TwiTip [dot] com with the title of your post so I know which one to include it with. The form we’ve got is fantastic, but it doesn’t have image upload capability at the moment. Please make them decent posts. I’ve had a few come through that are basically a paragraph or two that talks about some random Twitter tool no one’s ever heard of (or would care to), or are very basic “6 Reasons To Use Twitter” type things… we’ve got enough of those! Be original and creative. Check through the site to see if we’ve written about, or posted the same type of article before. (If I get another post about HootSuite , I think I’ll scream! ) So there you have it. We’d love some fresh, new tips and posts from you, our dear readers! Oh, and if you have a Twitter related question, feel free to put that in the form as well, and we’ll post it up so other readers can have a chance to help you out! Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with! © 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips . TwiTip Call For More Content!

Read the rest here:
TwiTip Call For More Content!

If you are Twitter you have to be feeling a bit dizzy by now. 2009 has been a year of tremendous growth, more than a little success followed by more than a little criticism. There are always questions hovering over why Biz did that or if Jack really meant that or if Evan is saying something that isn’t supposed to be public or whatever. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is flying around at a rapid rate. Google has come up with nearly forty innovations in the past 70 days alone. Some of which involve the real time search genie that Twitter represents. Well, while not innovating at Google-like speeds (who does that anyway) there are some things emerging from Twitter like their announcement yesterday about a new ‘business’ feature. On the Twitter blog we read The feature we are beta testing is called ‘Contributors’ – it enables users to engage in more authentic conversations with businesses by allowing those organizations to manage multiple contributors to their account. The feature appends the contributor’s username to the tweet byline, making the business to consumer communication more personal; e.g. if @Twitter invites @Biz to tweet on its behalf, then a tweet from @Twitter would include @Biz in the byline so that users know more about the real people behind organizations. Here’s a picture or it for you. Now all of this was couched in very non-committal terms. Now, in its beta form, twitter is allowing what appears to be a form of sub-accounts for a business. In other words, if you have Skippy, Biffy, Buffy and Irv all tweeting on behalf of your company the tweets will all come from your company but the actual contributor will get a byline mention. The idea being to show the variety of people that are tweeting on a company’s behalf and giving that account more of the various personalities. Makes sense. The blog promises several other non-specified changes but is very cautious in how these are presented. In other words, there will not be a ‘ask for forgiveness rather than permission’ approach to new ideas at Twitter. Maybe they aren’t as willing to work out their issues as publically as Google does. This feature is one of several in development; some of them will be visible to regular users and some of them will not. Our goal at this time is to get basic feedback from business users and ecosystem partners. The beta will be released to a limited subset of folks for some time so that we can get an idea of how the features work from a system perspective. After we kick the tires a bit, we’ll do a full launch to all business users and ecosystem partners. Stay tuned! Who knows but one thing is for certain. The upcoming year will be critical for Twitter as it really needs to establish what it intends to be when it grows up and what it’s going to do to keep everybody aware of “What’s happening”.

See the original post:
Twitter Developing Specific Features for Business

The move to trying to save more money online should come as no surprise to anyone for all the obvious reasons. With those reasons being so obvious we won’t belabor the point here (btw, for those wondering, the economy still kinda sucks). What is happening though, is the shift from the printed coupon to the online coupon is very real and is creating the same commotion in the heated online v. offline world as the news debate is. After all, many papers are clinging to the fact that their Sunday circulations remain OK because of the perceived savings offered by the coupons. NCH Marketing Services, a subsidiary of Valassis Communications is reporting an increase of 30% use in traditional coupons with an additional $600 million in savings by consumers. Unfortunately, we often measure just how hot an industry is by how many lawsuits it generates. Yahoo Finance reports : This past summer, Valassis won a $300 million verdict against News America Marketing (NAM), a subsidiary of the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp. It accused the coupon powerhouse of trying to monopolize supermarket advertising. In July, following the verdict in Michigan’s Wayne County Circuit Court, NAM president Chris Mixson said the decision “rewards a company that turned to litigation as its business strategy rather than compete.” He said evidence barred by the court would have made a case that Valassis tried “to induce collusion when it announced its new pricing policy in a public investor call.” So as with most things, the offline world is busy navel-gazing in court while the online business is preparing to move in take control. While those two titans of paper coupons duke it out, another battleground is emerging. Although a study by Experian Marketing Services, a global information services company, assessed that 70% of households still clip coupons from newspapers, beleaguered print media companies are starting to lose their once tight grip on the market to online competitors. NCH says online coupon distribution rose 41% during the first 9 months of 2009 and RedPlum.com saw coupon prints from the site jump 51% so far this year. At year-end 2008, online coupons represented 4.8% of all coupons redeemed in the U.S., compared to 6.3% by mid-year 2009. I am still amazed at how slow and plodding the offline world is in most sectors when it comes to seeing the competitive threat that online services is. Hey, all of you folks in the printed coupon business here’s your wake up call. Google purchased AdMob to get into this business. And to prove they are serious Google has begun issuing 100,000 window stickers to businesses in more than 9,000 cities and towns. Each window decal has a unique bar code that can be scanned with the camera feature of most mobile devices. The code will then immediately load the browser with information about the business and allow access to related coupons and offers. You don’t need a printed coupon for that to work.

Read more:
Coupons Fast Becoming Online Faves

Joint venture is a business where two parties are involved in one business. It could be that such a business is started by both parties from scratch or one joins later. It could also be that the two parties were at one point competing against each other but have decided to merge. Joint ventures are usually small enterprises; but there could be large businesses that are joint ventures. In a joint venture, both parties have the same rights due to the fact that their investments – in terms of capital, time and effort – are equal. There are certain things that those who are considering entering joint ventures should do. These include the following. Screening of potential partners You should make sure that the one you choose as a partner is the best. You can only be sure of this if you screen potential partners according to the goals of your business. One way of doing this is to make a joint business plan. Check the proposals of all potential partners carefully and select the one that will help move your business forward. Background search One thing that is of paramount importance in business is due diligence. This is more crucial if it comes to joint ventures. You must know the background of your partner very well. You must find out whether they have any criminal records or anything that might drag your business in the mud. If you don’t do this, you might find yourself in deep trouble one day. There are many fraudulent people looking for means of legitimizing themselves. Your business should not be an avenue for them. Make rules for your operations There must be clear rules as to how you will operate the business right from the start. You should not enter a joint venture thinking that the other party will act rightly. You must set rules as to how decisions are taken, how purchases are done, and how income is disbursed. In this plan, there should also be clear guidelines as to how you break up if it becomes necessary. There are some benefits that could be derived from joint ventures. Here are a few of them. Larger market With a partner, you can expand and reach out to a larger market. This will mean more sales and more profit for the company. Lower individual risk When you enter into a joint venture, you lower your risks as an individual investor because the risk will be shared between you and your partner. That means, in case of any unpredictable problem, you will not have to lose everything. There will be someone to share your trouble. Expansion It is easier to expand when you have a joint venture than when it is just a one-man business. The other partner will come with more possibilities and resources. It will be easier for two people to raise funds for expansion than just one person doing that. Although there are many advantages to be derived from joint ventures, it should be entered with care. This is because it comes with its own problems. If there is no trust (which takes time to build), conflicts might arise leading to the collapse of the business.

Read the rest here:
Joint Venture: What Potential Partners Should Know

Often we forget the little guy, the SMB, in our discussions of the comings and goings of the Internet marketing industry. Sure there are times like this when a report surfaces talking about their issues and concerns but, for the most part, we like to talk about big brands and how they do the Internet marketing thing well or not so well. Of course, when you consider that 95% of the businesses in the US are considered an SMB of some shape or size it should make one think a little more about the impact this market segment has in the overall scheme of things. Unfortunately, ‘too big to fail’ bailouts don’t await the little guy. Instead the SMB needs to make due with what they have and be as smart about how they spend their marketing dollars as possible. The Center for Media Research has released a study by Vertical Response that shows just where many of these ‘Main Street’ players are going with their online dollars. The big winners: e-mail and social media. With only 3.8% of small business folks NOT planning on using e-mail marketing and with social media carrying the perception of being free (which they so rudely discover it is far from free) this should make some in the banner and search crowd a little wary. I suppose the question is just what does increased use of social media mean? Will there be money put toward it or will it just be that the effort by the SMB social media practitioner (usually also referred to as the business owner) is increased. We’ll see. This quote from helps to frame something that most know already but have had a hard time changing. Janine Popick, VerticalResponse CEO and founder, says “… small businesses continue to allocate portions of their budget to… email and social media, despite the downturn in the economic climate… (but) marketers (still) need to help small businesses to see the value of integrating search engine marketing… into their campaigns.” Honestly, I am a little confused by some of the findings here because in the next breath we see the following: According to the study, the most important tool for small businesses to succeed in 2010 is search engine marketing, while email marketing, public relations and social media cited as crucial for success. 23.8% of all small businesses reported that search engine marketing was the tool most needed for their business to succeed in 2010. So which is it? Do they or don’t they use or want to use search marketing? Or is the better question can they or can’t they? Maybe the way that these findings seem a bit muddy is just a reflection of the struggles that many businesses have with the shift from traditional marketing to the online space. In 2010 it looks like the rubber is really hitting the road as the Internet marketing industry matures while many may end up just being left behind. Your thoughts?

More here:
Small Business Marketing Efforts Point to E-Mail and Social Media in 2010