Network Solutions – Small business conversations and working together for small business success

#GrowSmartBiz Presentation Slides and Video: 10 Rules for Killer Business Cards

So I got asked a few months ago to present at the GrowSmartBiz Conference and I suggested to do something on business cards. I am sure many people were like “ok….” It can be a dry subject unless you find the examples of business cards I did and relay some solid and clever rules to [...]

SEO Buzz – Using a Sitemap for SEO Optimization

With all the focus on tuning content for search engine optimization we often forget in the most basic things when setting up a site that do some great things for your web site. One of those things is using a sitemap.
What is a Sitemap?
WebUpon describes it as “A Sitemap is a graphical representation of the [...]

Social Networks before Social Networks – CPCUG

Honored to be part of the Washington DC CPCUG’s – Entrepreneurs and Consultants SIG (E&C SIG)

I am thrilled to give a talk at the Entrepreneurs and Consultants SIG (E&C SIG) meeting on September 19, 2009. This gives me a feeling of both honor and nostalgia . Honor because this is a body of peers and [...]

Event Review: Unintentional Entrepreneur Workshop DC

Wednesday night was the DC-area installment of the Unintentional Entrepreneur series of workshops, held by Network Solutions and Outright.com as a way to help guide entrepreneurs into building and growing their businesses.
Along with traditional entrepreneurs, in this economic climate there have been a bumper crop of unintentional entrepreneurs — people who, through circumstance, have found [...]

How Off-Topic Is Too Off-Topic?

One of the good things about having a blog that’s loosely-focused (say, about whatever broad range of social media issues that strikes your fancy) is that you don’t really have a topic to stray from. Which means that nothing is really off-topic, as long as you can circle it back to social behaviors (which can [...]

30 Must Have Wordpress Plugins – Two Lists Compared and Merged

You know, there are many posts out there with the heading “X Great Plugins for Wordpress” and many are pretty good. When I typed in to research the Top 20 Wordpress plugins I came across two high traffic posts:
20 Wordpress Plugins to Get You Started Effectively – OneXtraPixel
AND
21 Great Plugins That I Personally Recommend – [...]

Like A Kid In A Comic Book Store

Instead of trying to create tactics and plans that brings clients to you, try getting out and going to them. Seriously, go where your future long term customers will be. Market like you would to a kid…be where the eyes are.

Just Because You Give It Away…

The campaign was clear, very honorable in its intentions, and was giving something away a gift thanks. And this wasn’t just a cheap give away item. It had value both financially and use. The campaign had all the makings of a successful campaign if the appropriate effort was put into it, but what happened?

Hosting providers like Network Solutions can help consolidate your marketing

During a Microsoft event earlier this month, I had the chance to speak with someone involved in strategic and technology development and one of the questions that was discussed was how would small businesses be able to take advantage of multiple tools online to help control their marketing efforts. What exactly do I mean? Take [...]

Ruminations on “Best Fits for Social Media in the Sales Cycle”

Many of you out there are looking for ways to maximize your social media efforts to gain customers and I share your experiences of striving to correlate every investment to direct return that is more than what I put in. But when it comes to social media, it is not as straightforward as we wish [...]