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

SEO Buzz-Leveraging SEO and Social Media for Maximum Results

Broadly approached as a great standalone marketing strategy, social media marketing is integrated more and more with search engine optimization (SEO). If you are wondering why social media marketing has been so widely adopted by those in the SEO industry is because of the dramatic impact that social media has directly on search engine listings.
Three [...]

Marketers Killed the Internet as a Medium for Introverts

Recently, I’ve seen Myers-Briggs Personality Type badges floating around on Facebook and other social Web sites. I haven’t retaken the test in a long time, but I used to be an INTJ (basically, an introvert), and I have no reason to think that’s changed in any meaningful way.
It did, however, get me thinking about how [...]

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 [...]

Overly Broad Generalizations From the News: Useful Transparency and More

Here’s a quick roundup of some social media-ish things in the news:
* Airline transparency pays off: This BBC News article (link via… everywhere, it’s been making the rounds) tells the story of vacationers returning from the island of Menorca (off the Spanish coast, in the Mediterranean), who faced an eight-hour delay because a mechanical problem [...]

10 Simple Rules to Effective Personal Branding

Last month, Jay Berkowitz came by the Network Solutions office for a visit to speak about the Web in 2010. It was a great presentation and we did a great write up on it too. However, there was one point in the presentation which deserves its own post and that is Area #9 – Personal [...]

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?

If You Aren’t Excited About It…

If you’re on the fence whether you’re excited about what you do or if the shine has worn off… pick a side and go there. It’s going to suck at times. It’s going to be exhausting at others. There’s going to be days where you look at your loved one, friend, employees, or business partner and think, “What the hell did I get myself into” and the answer to that question is the very same thing “I love what I do for a living!”

Marketing Your Business On A Shoestring Budget…

In my previous post ‘Get Your Hand Off Your Wallet And Your Head Out Of Your…*’, Terry Upton asked in her comment “What if you don’t have any money at all? What would you say to those people trying to get there business off the ground?”

Well fear not Terry, and all you trying to have your business take flight, this post is for you.

Grow Smart Business Webinar Interview with Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends

Anita Campbell, Editor of Small Business Trends will be one of five panelists on the GrowSmartBusiness Webinar (next Thursday, April 30 at 2pm ET). Her well-rounded expertise will shed light on two of the biggest challenges for small businesses –marketing and finance – as revealed in the Small Business Success Index. We asked Anita to [...]

Get Your Hand Off Your Wallet And Your Head Out Of Your…

Let me be very honest, starting a business costs money.  Starting a successful business…still costs money.  Getting the marketing pieces and materials you’ll need to do the bare minimum to promote your business effectively…will cost money.
Does spending a lot of money guarantee you are going to be successful?  No, but spending it smartly does help.  [...]