Pre-Columbian Wheels

Richard C. Notebaert, former CEO of Ameritech and Qwest International, illustrated how lack of innovation has been an issue for thousands of years: "In a museum at Princeton University, there is a toy from a pre-Columbian civilization. It's a pull-toy complete with wheels. Now the question is, if the craftsmen of the day were able to conceive of and construct wheels for an amusement—a toy—why didn't they take that technology a step further and design carts and wagons? Why didn't they develop tools that would ease their burdens? Many scholars conclude they just never thought of it."

Excerpt from Harvey Mackay's weekly column  He's one of my all time favorite business authors/speakers. Check him out if you aren't familiar with him.

Low Cost, High Impact Marketing - Social Media

Well written article  covering the benefits of social media marketing for small business and how to take advantage of the FREE services. Michelle Lanter Smith, CEO of Hi-Impact Marketing & Sales Solutions, is one of the coaches for the American Family Business Accelerator Program. I've learned a lot from the program and would encourage all of you to participate in the next class which begins on 11/18. Click here to learn about the program. It's FREE too!

Tracing Cell References

Excel 2003 or 2007

Double click on a cell containing a formula and Excel will highlight the various cells used in the formula. Each step will be bordered in a different color that will coordinate with the formula.

1. Cell contains formula adding C1 + D5 + G7.
2. Double click on cell with formula.
3. C1, D5 and G7 will be bordered with colors that match your formula.

Averted Disaster is Microcosm of Today's Business World

"I just wanted to let you know I thought your presentation was very good last night. I know that having to go home to get the presentation had to be very stressful and for most people, it would have affected the quality of doing it. You were able to put that aside and present the information as if nothing had happened. It was very impressive and a tribute to your professionalism. I left the meeting enthused about improving my presence on LinkedIn and I also came away with a couple of leads for my photography services.  I look forward to participating in future networking meetings. Great job!"    Ed Taube, Taube Photography

"Great job, Pamela and my head hurts - whew!  But I'm anxious to apply my new knowledge."  Deb Lasch Arizona Masonry Guild.  Last night was the second One Byte at a Time class. The meeting was held at Westar's beautiful showroom in Scottsdale. The reason I had to "go home to get the presentation" as Ed mentions was that I brought the wrong laptop with me!  My presentation was left at the office. I had to rush from Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd to Tempe and back in 1 hour on the 101!  I'm not going to talk about how many traffic laws I broke.

Instead I want to talk the class. I was stressed. On the way back to Westar, I had a serious conversation with myself about how I could handle the problem. I could stay upset and rattled or I could let it go and get on with the evening. It wasn't easy for me to let it go. I really felt like wallowing in the misery. But I was able to convince myself that the audience deserved better. So I made one apology when I arrived and got on with it.

As I was traveling, Nancy Hugo who came up with the One Byte at a Time idea, stepped up and made the lag time valuable. She involved the group in a Q & A session  supplemented with design horror stories that kept people interested and laughing.

The whole situation made me think about doing business now. We need to learn new things. We need to step out of our comfort zone. We need to help each other. We need to do new things. And we need to do them quickly. Business today doesn't allow you to sit around and cogitate for months before taking action. You need to analyze options and move.

And, of course, you're going to need back up plans! Next time you see me doing a presentation, there will be at least three back ups around!

Including social media in your marketing plans

"As companies decide where to invest their limited marketing resources, there is a distinct opportunity to focus on investing in relationships: with their customers, prospects, employees and business partners. Social media engagement helps build relationships with consumers and influencers as well as social web savvy journalists."

from Lee Odden, CEO at Top Rank Online Marketing

Direct Mail Marketing

Though I'm a proponent of email marketing, there are circumstances where direct mail is the better tool for the job. Here is a well written article I received as part of the American Family Business Accellerator Program that I wanted to share with you.

• Average response rate is 2.6% but can go as high as 5% with a targeted list.
• Carefully preparing your mail piece is crucial.
• Know your audience.
• Repeat mailings increase the success rate. (Remember the 7 touches I'm always harping on!)

http://www.amfambusinessaccelerator.com/e-tips/etips.php?ID=24

Social Site Users Depend on Their Networks

eMarketer article about the increase in social networkers using their networks to make decisions.

social-site-users-depend-on-their-networks

29 Ways to Collect Email Addresses for Your Business

Thank you, Barbara Joyce with Custom Professional Accounting, for spotting this article from Vertical Response with tips on gathering email addresses.

There are a ton of ways to get people to sign up for your email marketing offers. I've put together a list for you to read, so you know all of the ways you can be growing your list.

1. Put an offer on the back of your business cards to get people to sign up for your newsletter.
2. Tradeshows - Bring a clipboard or sign-up book with you to tradeshows and ask for permission to send email to those who sign up.
3. Include a newsletter sign-up link in your signature of all of your emails.
4. Send an opt-in email to your address book asking them to join your list.
5. Join your local chamber of commerce, email the member list (if it's opt-in) about your services with a link to sign up to your newsletter.
6. Host your own event - Art galleries, software companies (one here has a party every quarter and invites the neighboring businesses), retail shops, consultants (lunch & learn) can all host an event and request attendees to sign up.
7. Offer a birthday club where you give something special to people who sign up.
8. Incentivize your employees - Give them $ for collecting VALID email addresses.
9. Giving something for free like a PDF? Make visitors sign up to your opt-in form before you let them download it.
10. Referrals - Ask you customers to refer you, and in exchange you'll give them a discount.
11. Bouncebacks – Get them back! - Send a postcard or call them asking for their updated email address.
12. Trade newsletter space with a neighboring business, include a link for their opt-in form and ask them to include yours in their newsletter.
13. SEO - Make sure you optimize your site for your keywords. You need to be at the top of the natural search when people are looking for your products or services.
14. Giveaways - Send people something physical and ask for their email address as well as their postal address.
15. Do you have a postal list without emails? Send them a direct mail offer they can only get if they sign up to your email list.
16. Include opt-in forms on every page on your site.
17. Popup windows - When someone attempts to leave your site, pop up a window and ask for the email address.
18. Include a forward-to-a-friend link in your emails just in case your recipient wants to forward your content to someone they think will find it interesting.
19. Include a forward-to-a-friend on every page of your site.
20. Offer a community - Use Ning as your easy-to-set-up community and have your visitors interact and sign up for your newsletter.
21. Offer "Email only" discounts and don't use those offers anywhere but email.
22. Telemarketing - If you've got people on the phone, don't hang up until you ask if you can add them to your newsletter.
23. Put a fishbowl on your counter and do a weekly prize giveaway of your product - then announce it to your newsletter. Add everyone who put their card in on to your newsletter list.
24. Include an opt-in form inside your emails for those people who get your email forwarded to them.
25. Tradeshows - Collect business cards and scan them into a spreadsheet. Make sure you ask permission to send email to them, then mark the card.
26. Use Facebook - Host your own group and invite people to it, then post new links often. From time to time, post a link to sign up for your newsletter.
27. Use Facebook - Post the hosted link from your newsletter into Linked Items to spread the word.
28. Use Facebook - Include an opt-in form on your Facebook Fan page.
29. Use Twitter - Twitter the hosted link of your email campaign every time you launch.

LinkedIn Seminar

Following up on the first One Byte at a Time seminar, we are moving into more in-depth seminars on Social Media. First we're going to delve into LinkedIn and the features it offers a small businessperson for networking. It's great to connect with friends and colleagues. But how do you make money with LinkedIn? We'll discuss:

• Establishing yourself and your company as experts.
• Finding new prospects.
• Building your brand.

Discussing only LinkedIn during the seminar will give us time to get into specific examples and how-to's.

Join us on October 21^st. We'll begin at 5:30 pm with networking. The LinkedIn seminar will begin at 6:00 and be 1.5 hours long. Cost: $20 per person.

Westar will be hosting this event in their newly remodeled showroom at 15500 N. Greenway-Hayden Loop, Scottsdale, AZ.

They will be providing the refreshments & fresh-baked cookies.  Please be aware that dinner will not be served so we may utilize as much time as possible for the seminar.

While the seminar is geared toward the design community, all Your Computer Lady clients are invited. Email or call to make your reservation. Pamela@YourComputerLady.com or 480-929-0335.

Secret Twitter Tools! Shhhhh!!

I'm going to share a couple of tools that you can use to become a better social media player. Many of you ask me, "How can I find the time to tweek?!"  Here's one answer.

http://www.twuffer.com/ or http://www.socialoomph.com/

Both of these FREE sites allow you to schedule tweets for future delivery. You don't have to come up with content every day! Sit down on Monday when the phones are quiet and write 7 tweets for the next week. Schedule one a day. Your twitter friends don't know the message was pre-written. But you've worked more efficiently. It's always better to do similar tasks in a group instead of individually. You've also taken the time to think through your messages. Is this the persona I want to project? Is this pertinent information that is valuable to my tweeple?

Of course, you can send out a spur of the moment tweet. Those are icing on the cake. But your scheduled tweets will build your brand and your reputation.

PS - Most blog software will allow you to schedule blog posts. You could set up a series of posts too!!!

Blogging for SEO

Well written article from FireDrum Internet Marketing explaining how a blog on your web site can help with Search Engine Optimization.

I agree with Maureen that a blog is a simple, inexpensive way to add value to your site. Too many companies put up a web site then abandon it. No! The web site should be the hub of all of your marketing efforts. Posting info via a blog makes this easy to do.

What if you aren't a writer?  What to do if that blank screen terrifies you? Use an experienced copywriter (like Your Computer Lady) to take your facts and figures and massage them into an article. As long as you provide the technical expertise, an outside editor can polish up the content.

Click here to read the full article.

Cross-Pollination of Marketing

This excerpt is from an eMarketer article I read this morning. It documents a subject that has been coming up in a lot of discussions lately - the value and necessity of cross-pollination in your marketing efforts. There is no silver bullet that is going to bring you fame and fortune. No marketing tool that is going to make your business a success. You absolutely have to tie all the efforts together so they support each other.  It is a harder way to market. There are more pieces. There's more work to check all the details. In many ways, though it is less expensive. You can do many small things which can be easily adjusted instead of one big, expensive effort that is boom or bust. There is a lot of opportunity for a small business to be a successful marketer.  One manufacturer recently put on a huge happy hour / product introduction event. All the salespeople had to attend. Lots of money for food. Lots of money for beautiful printed materials. Lots of effort. But they picked an off night. Their name wasn't that well known. Less than 10 people attended. For less money, they could have sent a year's worth of e-newsletters to educate their prospects and build name recognition. They could have sponsored a couple of professional organization events and met the attendees one-on-one. Of course, they would have to join the organization and participate! They could have built a social media campaign to reach out to prospects. The chances of drawing a large crowd and wow-ing them a presentation that immediately results in a purchase are pretty slim. We're cautious consumers these days. But steady, cross-polinated efforts will bring steady, long term results.

For example, a January 2009 study commissioned by iProspect and conducted by Forrester Consulting showed that Internet users exposed to a promotional ad might not click on the ad itself, but often took some other form of action:

• 27% searched for the product, brand or company using a search engine.
• 21% typed the Web address directly into their browser and navigated to the advertiser’s site.
• 9% investigated the product, brand or company through social media or message boards.

Measurement of display ad effectiveness must take into account such cross-pollination, not simply click rates, in order to be accurate.

Full eMarketer article

Here's another really good example from Steven Groves' blog about a small coffee shop's efforts.  Good blog, by the way, if you're wanting to learn about social media.

Social Media Seminar Tonight

The handout is printed. I'm finalizing my presentation for tonight's 1 Byte at a Time seminar. I think this is such a good idea. Short introductions to the four most common social media options: Blogging, Twittering, LinkedIn and Facebook. People who haven't waded in the pool yet can learn what all the talk is about and decide where to get started. As always, my recommendation is pick one and work with it until you have it mastered. Then pick another tool. And another... A small businessperson can't have too many arrows in the quiver, as the saying goes.

This link will take you to the seminar details and registration. There's room for a few more people. Networking and learning something new! Free!     1 Byte at a Time

E Myth discussion group

Just had a meeting of the discussion group.  It helps so much to have someone to talk the ideas over with! I learn every meeting from hearing the different perspectives.

Your Computer Lady newsletter 08/09

In this issue:                      Click here to read - 0809-newsletter

• Declutter Your Mailbox
• Animoto.com
• ACT 2010
• Upcoming Computer Classes

What Are People Tweeting About?

Study shows 40% of tweets are pointless babble. I could have told them that! But the study also shows a growing amount of conversation, value and news. This is a new marketing tool. We're still figuring it out. But it is too important to ignore.

eMarketer article

Upcoming Computer Classes

Mark your calendars now for the next classes!

Excel 2003:              Sep 8, 15, 22
Excel 2007:              Sep 10, 17, 24

Outlook 2003:           Oct 6, 13, 20
Outlook 2007:           Oct 8, 15, 22

PowerPoint 2003:      Nov 10, 17
PowerPoint 2007:      Nov 12, 19

Email Marketing:      Sep 23, Oct 21, Nov 11, Dec 9
Social Media Overview:   Sep 30, Oct 28, Nov 18, Dec 16

Each class:
 -   will be online.
  -  will begin at 9 am PT
  -  will be 1.5 hours long

The classes can be taken individually or as a series. There will be a discounted price for the series. 

Full details and class descriptions will be available shortly.  Call me if you have questions!

Do's and Don'ts for Social Media

For everyone considering the leap into Social Media and those of us getting started. Here's an excellent list of things to do and things to avoid. Clear and concise.  http://tinyurl.com/q3dfgk

Author Dave Nelsen. His site:  http://www.get121.biz/

Has Technology Made You More Productive?

eMarketer report on people's feelings about technology and its effects on their productivity.

The Changing Face of Advertising

eMarketer report on dollars spent per advertising type and the changes.

How to Select Strong Passwords

Great article from the TweetLater newsletter about setting strong passwords that are easy to remember.  Good passwords that you change occasionally are the best method to protect your data.

How to Choose Very Strong Passwords

Is Social Network Advertising Ready for Primetime?

Interesting article about the changes in advertising on social networking sites from eMarketer.

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007165

Not sure if your web site is valuable?

Check out these statistics from eMarketer. Then go update your web site!!
Reporting as "very valuable"

74% = the Internet
51% = at-work contacts
43% = outside-work contacts
63% = general search engines
31% = links from web sites or other online content

Full Article  execs-go-online-for-business-intelligence.PDF

Michael Gerber interview in The Social Media Bible

Lon Safko, co-author of The Social Media Bible, interviewed Michael Gerber, author of The E Myth books about the value of social media to business.  A couple of quotes from the interview:

"Social media is simply an identification of the technological resource that is available to everyone. The either take advantage of it, they either utilize it, or they fail to. And if they fail to, they cannot build a competitive advantage in their company."

"I do not believe that technology is critical to entrepreneurship; I believe creativity is..."

Listen or read the entire interview here.

Expanded Use of Coupons in Marketing

Interesting article about the increase in using coupons as a marketing tool. It's very easy to add a coupon to an email message.

Click! So What?

Interview with Gian Fulgoni, Chairman, comScore,  from eMarketer web site

eMarketer: Have we moved away from the click as a proxy for online advertising effectiveness?

Gian Fulgoni: Publishers would be out of their minds to take an average click rate of 0.1% to an advertiser or an agency and say, “Here’s an indication of advertising effectiveness.” It’s not the right metric. It’s a really short-term view of how advertising works as a direct-response-oriented vehicle and not a branding-oriented one.

Let’s say I’m BMW. Do I want to reach a 20-year-old kid who can’t afford to buy a BMW today? The direct response people would say, “No, don’t target with the Internet.” They would target those people who are about to buy a car. That’s one view.

The branding people would say that at some point, the 20-year-old kid is going to buy a BMW or a Lexus or a Mercedes, so let’s make sure that he has the BMW brand value and equity in his head. Otherwise, he’s going to buy a Mercedes or a Lexus.

Read the full article

15% time loss due to email interruptions!

In preparing for tomorrow's Email Marketing class, I came across this article about email productivity.

"Each time I am interrupted and check email I am going to allocate a 90 second penalty. This penalty is against the break in my focus and the time it takes me to regain the flow on the task that I was performing. So, during the working day I have 62 such interruptions. 62 * 90 Seconds equates to 5580 seconds, or 93 minutes. Just over one and a half hours out of my nine and a half hours of productive working time (not counting lunch). Maybe 90 seconds penalty is a bit high, maybe it is too low.

The bottom line, and the basis for my next post on this fascinating subject is that I am losing roughly 15.8% of my productive time due to email interruptions."

Full article

Twitter as a Networking Tool

http://tinyurl.com/l6j99q  Good article about using Twitter as a networking tool. Also discusses the differences in Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Coffee News of Scottsdale Email Marketing

Patrick Lyons, owner of Coffee News of Scottsdale, is a long time YCL client but email marketing is new for him. Pat turned to Your Computer Lady for assistance.

Challenges:

• The opt in form on the Coffee News web site needed to do double duty. First, the entrant needed  to be added to a group for a specific time frame to allow Coffee News to pick a winner for the $100 cash prize. Second, the entry form has critical marketing info to gather to guide Coffee News on meeting their customers' needs. Third, the same form needed to add the entrant to Pat's email list for future email messages. Your Computer Lady was able to create a form that fit all 3 purposes!
• Implement the new opt in form without losing entrants in the transition. We were able to do it!

The first Coffee News of Scottsdale email message

“It was my first email message but the response was excellent. I received several phone calls in response including some from interested advertisers! At minimum, I got my name in front of people that I would have missed otherwise.”

Patrick Lyons
Coffee News of Scottsdale
www.CoffeeNewsofScottsdale.com

Acosta Landscape Web Site

Mind the Gap Marketing came to YCL for assistance on this web site. The site had recently been built but it was completely done in FLASH so there were very limited Search Engine Optimization options.  Acosta Landscape wanted the ability to do some SEO work and possibly Pay-Per-Click advertising.

Challenges

• Improve the site without a large additional expense.
• Maintain the design and function of the FLASH elements since everyone liked them.

View the completed website.

Your Computer Lady worked with one of our programmers to embed the FLASH sequences into regular HTML pages. This kept the appearance of the FLASH while allowing us to prepare the site for Search Engine Optimization. The cost was much, much lower than re-creating the site from scratch.

YCL added Google Analytics to the site for gathering critical traffic information. YCL also created a site map and made the submission to Google to get the site indexed by Google.  Many other search engines utilize Google's indexes so they are the very best place to start search engine optimization.

Slater Metal Sculpture Website

The renovation of this site involved a new site design along with the addition of many new photographs. The project was managed by Mind the Gap Marketing.

 Challenges:

• Sizing the photos. There was a mix of old and new photos of all sizes and shapes. YCL had to   standardize the photos to fit the design as well as how the sculptures to their best advantage.
• Display a large number of photos, many with captions, is an eye pleasing format to encourage browsing.

Slater Metal Sculpture Website

Email Subject Lines

35% of email users open messages because of what's contained in the subject line - Jupiter Research (2007)

Words that were identified as innocuous words that won't trigger a spam filter but will negatively affect your open rates: help, percent off and reminder. - MailChimp (2007)

So subject lines for your email messages are important. How do you write good ones?  Here are 3 articles to help you from experts at Constant Contact.

6 Tips for Writing Better Subject Lines
Subject Lines That Click
Subject Lines & Calls to Action

Finding Opportunity in a Down Economy

A Back-to-Basics Approach to Successful Marketing in Difficult Times.  This 14 page article from Constant Contact offers a lot of good suggestions for honing your marketing strategy and taking advantage of email marketing as a tool. Excellent read!

Finding Opportunity in a Down Economy Article

Word 2003 AutoText & AutoCorrect

Using Your Computer To Work Smarter

 “Like an ant on a stick both ends of which are burning, I go to and fro without knowing what to do,…”

All of us have days that just seem to get away from us.  But there is hope!  There are features or tools in most of our software programs that will help us be more productive.

AutoText – If you have a group of text that you type regularly – the signature block on your letters, a table you use for quoting new projects, the page you use for listing steps in a job – you can use AutoText to save the text and formatting then insert it whenever you need it.

To create the AutoText:

1. Type your text.
2. Format your text.
3. Select all of the text and formatting.
4. Go to Insert on the menubar > AutoText > New
5. In the window that opens, name your text group. EX: my signature block.
6. Click OK.

When you’re ready to insert the text in a document:

1. Place your cursor where you want the text group to go.
2. Start typing the NAME of the text. EX: my signat
3. A small box will pop up over your curser with a sample of the AutoText.
4. Hit the Enter key on your keyboard.
5. The entire AutoText that you created and named “my signature block” will type into the document with the same formatting you gave it.

AutoCorrect – If there is a long word or phrase you frequently type such as your full company name, a product you sell, a service you offer, you can list it in AutoCorrect so Word will type it for you! 

To create the AutoCorrect:

1. Type the text you want to insert and format it. EX: Your Computer Lady.
2. Select the text.
3. Go to Tools on the meubar > AutoCorrect Options
4. Click on the AutoCorrect tab
5. In the “Replace” field, type your abbreviation or short version. EX: “ycl”.
6. In the “With” field, you will see your selected text.
7. Above the “With” field, you can select to insert your corrected text as either “Plain text” or “Formatted text.” EX: Your Computer Lady (Plain text) or Your Computer Lady (Formatted text).
8. Click the Add button.
9. Click OK.

When you’re ready to insert the text in a document:

1. Place your curser where you want to insert the text.
2. Type your “Replace” text. EX: ycl.
3. Hit the space bar on your keyboard.
4. Word will type the whole text for you. EX: Your Computer Lady

AutoCorrect can also be used to automatically correct words that you spell wrong!  EX: Replace “Pheonix” With “Phoenix”  Every time I mis-spell the city, Word fixes it for me!

Word 2007 Building Blocks & AutoCorrect

Using Your Computer To Work Smarter

“Like an ant on a stick both ends of which are burning, I go to and fro without knowing what to do,…”

All of us have days that just seem to get away from us.  But there is hope!  There are features or tools in most of our software programs that will help us be more productive.

Microsoft Word 2007

Quick Parts / Building Blocks (AutoText in version 2003) – If you have a group of text that you type regularly – the signature block on your letters, a table you use for quoting new projects, the page you use for listing steps in a job – you can use AutoText to save the text and formatting then insert it whenever you need it.

To create the Building Block:

1. Type your text.
2. Format your text.
3. Select all of the text and formatting. Note that this can be used for headers and footers including those with graphics.
4. Go to the  Insert  tab on the ribbon
5. Click Quick Parts > Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery
6. In the Create New Building block window that opens:
1. Name your text group. EX: my signature block.
2. Choose which Gallery you want the block to be saved in. Note that AutoText is one of the Galleries.
3. Choose a Category for the block. Optional.
4. Describe the block. Recommended.
5. Leave the Save in as Building Blocks.dotx
6. Choose your insert options. 
7. Click OK.

When you’re ready to insert the text in a document:

1. Place your cursor where you want the block to go.
2. Click the Quick Parts icon. The most recently used Building Block will be previewed in the window. Left click to use that block.
3. Select Building Blocks Organizer
4. A list of all of the blocks will open. You can sort the blocks by clicking any column heading (Name, Gallery, Category, etc.).
5. Left click to select the block you wish to use. You can see a preview of the block on the right side of the window.
6. Click the Insert button.

AutoCorrect – If there is a long word or phrase you frequently type such as your full company name, a product you sell, a service you offer, you can list it in AutoCorrect so Word will type it for you! 

To create the AutoCorrect:

1. Type the text you want to insert and format it. EX: Your Computer Lady.
2. Select the text.
3. Click the Office Button > Word Options in the bottom right corner
4. Click on Proofing on the left side navigation of the Word Options window.
5. Click on the AutoCorrect  Options button.
6. In the “Replace” field, type your abbreviation or short version. EX: “ycl”.
7. In the “With” field, you will see your selected text.
8. Above the “With” field, you can select to insert your corrected text as either “Plain text” or “Formatted text.” EX: Your Computer Lady (Plain text) or Your Computer Lady (Formatted text).
9. Click the Add button.
10. Click OK.
11. Click OK to close the Word Options window.

When you’re ready to insert the text in a document:

1. Place your curser where you want to insert the text.
2. Type your “Replace” text. EX: ycl.
3. Hit the space bar on your keyboard.
4. Word will type the whole text for you. EX: Your Computer Lady

AutoCorrect can also be used to automatically correct words that you spell wrong!  EX: Replace “Pheonix” With “Phoenix”  Every time I mis-spell the city, Word fixes it for me!

Pet DNA of Arizona Access Database

Dr. Michael Prochazka is the principal of Pet DNA Services of AZ. I met Michael at a class presented by the Maricopa County Small Business Development Center. Michael asked for assistance with building an Access database to replace the cumbersome Excel spreadsheet he had been using.

YCL created:

• Forms with drop-down menus to allow faster and more accurate input of data.
• Relational tables to tie together information about the owner, their horses, the tests they had    requested.
• Two versions of the test report that could be emailed or printed for the owner.

Challenges:

• Making the leap from the limitations of Excel to the many options of Access. Michael hadn't used Access previously so it was a new program for him. It took us several versions and updates to get to the final version.
• YCL had to learn quite a bit about genetic testing to put together the tables, forms and reports. This is an area where YCL excels, however. We really want to learn how your business operates. The first project is always the hardest. But as we learn your preferences and the facets of your business, the whole process gets easier.

The Social Media Bible

I attended the Social Media Symposium yesterday hosted by Arizona Small Business Association. The author of this book was the keynote speaker.  http://www.thesocialmediabible.com/

Rush to Social Media

eMarketer article about the phenomenal growth of social media.

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1006910

Social Media Trends

Summary from eMarketer of their report regarding the 5 trends they see for the coming year in Social Media.

 http://www.emarketer.com/Report.aspx?code=emarketer_2000566

Social Media is Public Relations

http://blog.karasmamedia.com/2008/11/social-media-is-public-relations.html

This article is specifically about SM for law firms but the discussion is pertinent to any company.

50 Ideas for Using Twitter for Business

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/

One of social media's stars wrote this article. You should follow his blog and/ or Twitter too!

10 Ways to Use Linked In

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/ten_ways_to_use.html

Article covers:

• Business applications
• Job hunt applications

Twitter Demystified for Business Users
By Nancy McCord (c) 2009

http://www.sitepronews.com/2009/05/10/twitter-demystified-for-business-users/

Article covers:

• How businesses can use Twitter
• Why Twitter
• Twitter tools to make it easier
• Linking Twitter to your blog and vice versa 

Connect with People

Excellent article by John Maxwell about connecting with people. It is very pertinent to the discussion of social media. Especially points 4, 6, 7 and 8.

http://tinyurl.com/connectpeople

Are You Ready to Lead in Social Media?

Good article listing the skills needed to lead and excel at social media. As a beginner, I think this is a checklist letting me know what I need to work on.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-6171-Chicago-Social-Networking-Examiner~y2009m4d17-The-Social-Media-Directors-Entrance-Exam--Do-you-have-what-it-takes

Should You Market During a Recession?

Interesting article about Kellogg's, General Mills and the effect of their marketing decisions during the Depression. Their actions clearly show that you need to keep up your marketing during this recession or if possible even expand your marketing. One excellent, cost-effective way to do that is email marketing.

Interesting Marketing Story

Printing Industries of America

The original referral to Sandi Neuman, Director of Printing Industries Association Inc of Arizona (PIAZ) was just for an quick Outlook question.

But as Sandi and I talked, we realized we had something of value to offer her members. We had a pool of computer users who needed training. Your Computer Lady agreed to a discounted rate to make this an even greater benefit for her members. We had successful Outlook and Excel classes.

Barbara Silverman, Printing Industries of Northern California (PINC), heard about the classes and asked if she could offer them to her members also. Then Pacific Printing & Imaging Association got involved. We're offering 1.5 hour focused classes on Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Email Marketing and Upgrading to Office 2007.

This is a wonderful value that is easy for an association to offer members. The association promotes the classes and handles their own registrations. YCL provides the online meeting service and a toll-free conference line. Members can attend the class from the comfort of their office. The short class time makes it easier to fit into their day. The focused class means that they leave every class with something they can use immediately.

Consider having the associations and professional organizations you belong to offer computer training.

Read feedback from an attendee.

New Web Site with Content Management Software

Mind the Gap Marketing was working with their client, RDC Construction, on a major project submittal. They needed a web site quickly so it could be included.

Challenges

• Build a site from scratch in one month. 
• Include Content Management Software to allow the end user to update the site as needed.

      

Leo Buscaglia Foundation web site

YCL is very pleased to be working with this excellent non-profit organization.  In 2006, YCL re-designed the web site to update the appearance and make the site more flexible. We also worked with the Executive Director, Jeff Jordan, to add new donation options.

Since the update, we've maintained the site. Each year we add a new section for the Report to Contributors. The report itself lists the organizations who received funds from the Foundation. Each organization has their own page with the opportunity to share their message through text, photos, videos and internet links.

YCL works within the Foundation's budget to add new photos and new features to the site to make it an important resource for its community.

Email Marketing Works!

Just received this email from a happy email marketer!

"Pamela, just wanted to share with you that our phone is ringing off the hook and I am getting email inquiries every 5 minutes! Two of them were corporate and six brides!!! ALL in the first hour! Thank God, I am so excited. Thanks for your hard work."

Julia Aldana
ALL About Catering Company
Goodyear, AZ
P: 623-846-6800
E: Julia@AllAboutCateringCo.com

WHAT WE DID AND WHY IT WORKED SO WELL
Julia has great photos of her food and her servers. We used lots of photos in the message then added descriptions of her scrumptious meals.  We used the same basic message for two groups. That doubled the bang for the buck. 1 set of photos. 1 newsletter. 2 email messages. For "Brides" we added two special sections with bridal offerings.  The message was clear. The message was to a specific niche.

PS - There are only 225 contacts on her Corporate email list. You don't have to have a big list to be successful in email marketing.

History proves that marketing during a recession is necessary for acompany's survival.

The research firm of Meldrum & Fewsmith studied all post World War II recessions and found that advertising aggressively during recessions not only increases sales but it also increases profits, and at a far great rate than those firms that cut back. (1)

"This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at a lower cost than during good economic times." (2)

The marketing you do now will set the growth rate of your company through and after a bad economy. Don't miss out on this important time of opportunity.

This article is from AffordableImage.com
(1) Source: Ibid
(2) John Quelch, Sr Associate Dean & Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

5 Ways to Build Customer Relationships

Great article from Entrepreneur.com by Gail Goodman who happens to be the President of Constant Contact.

1. Build your network--it's your sales lifeline
2. Communication is a contact sport, so do it early and often.
3. E-mail marketing keeps relationships strong on a shoestring budget.
4. Reward loyal customers, and they'll reward you.
5. Loyal customers are your best salespeople.

Read the full article here...

Why Customer Relationships Are So Important

Excellent article by Laura Lake from About.com

Before you spend your time and money going after new customers and clients you do not currently have a relationship with consider the following statistics:

• Repeat customers spend 33% more than new customers.
• Referrals among repeat customers are 107% greater than non-customers.
• It costs six times more to sell something to a prospect than to sell that same thing to a customer.

Click here to read the full article.