Ok you have started a new business whether it is online or not and now you are wondering what to do next. Well one thing you need to do or at least make plans to do is to start promoting your business so that you can get customers. Some of you may be wondering, okay what do I do next or how do I get the ball rolling. Well I listed 5 easy steps below to help get the ball rolling. Enjoy! Meka Johnson
Instructions
- Record a voice message:
On your voice mail, whether its your home phone or cell phone, you can announce your business to everyone who calls you. Your voice mail is an
excellent way to inform people about your products and your new business venture. Here is an example. “Hi, you have reached, Jane Doe, your Independent ___ Representative. I’m sorry that I am
unavailable at this time. If you would like more information on my products, services or inquiring about something else, leave a message at the tone and your call will be returned promptly.”
- Purchase business cards:
If you joined a company, most of the time they have professional sales materials/samples and business cards available through a consultant store or back office. You can also opt to purchase some cheap business cards through Vista Print (http://www.vistaprint.com ). Either way, it makes you look professional and serious about your business. Always have a business card with you to give to someone or to include in a
catalog/sample or any information that you give to people about your business so they know how to get back in touch with you.
- Text messages and signature lines:
If you use your cell phone for text messaging, you can
include a signature at the bottom of all outgoing messages that you send to people. Depending on your phone, go to the text messaging menu screen, then go to settings and you should see a category called signature. Input a signature line that you want to go out with every text message such as your business web site link! You never have to type it again after you save it in this setting and it will be sent
with every text message!
This also works with an email address. You can put a signature at the bottom of all your emails that you send alerting people about your business and getting some free promotion. Depending on what service
you are using, click email settings, go to signature and type up a few lines. Include your name, business title and website address to start.
- Promoting your business with FREE classified ads:
The Internet is a powerful tool to use in promoting your business helping get customers, the problem is how to go about driving customers to it. There are a couple of things you can do to get the search engines to take notice such as posting in various cities on free classified ad sites. There are many sites out there where you can post classified ads.
The most popular are:
Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Backpage http://www.backpage.com
Kijiji http://www.kijiji.com
Click2City http://www.click2city.com/
USFreeads http://www.usfreeads.com/
Merchant Circle (not a free classified ad site but it is great at getting you listed in search engines by making a business profile) http://www.merchantcircle.com
When using classified ad sites remember to read the rules and terms and make sure you are posting in the correct category, if not your listing may be removed.
- Submit your website link to Yahoo and Google (it doesn’t hurt):
Hey its free and it doesn’t hurt to make the suggestion for your site into Yahoo and Googles database. Suggest your site for inclusion in Yahoo! (you need to be registered or have a yahoo ID, it is free
and only takes a few minutes if you do no have one) Go here
https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit and submit your site for free
Submit your website for inclusion in Google’s index. Add your website link to Google by going
here http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
Tips & Warnings
- There are a variety of ways to promote yourself and these 5 steps are just the beginning to help get the ball rolling.
- I am not an expert!
If you have a website, this free service is a must-have. You’ll receive free notifications by email/text message if your website server goes down and your site is offline.
Instructions
- To track your website status, visit www.ezinedesigner.com. Here you will find a short form to fill out with your website information and method of notification.
- Once the form is submitted, you will instantly be provided with a html code to add to your website.
- When this code is added to your site, the free service will monitor your site and notify you immediately if your site goes down.
Whether you’re a seasoned writer or one just taking the first few steps into the freelance world, most editors nowadays expect you to have a website. With hundreds of companies offering hosting and templates for next to nothing, cost is no longer an issue when considering a website, and even somebody with no previous knowledge of HTML can set up a successful site in an hour or less.
Instructions
- Decide your needs in advance. Most writers will do well with a basic website to showcase their resume, writing experience and samples. Most writers will do well with 4 or 5 pages. If you plan on uploading lots of files, you should make sure that you get a website with enough space to allow for it without slowing down the loading.
- Learn what not to do. Certain things are considered a no-no in a professional website. These include music, animations, moving cursors and photos of family or pets. All these items distract from the original purpose of your website and are best reserved for personal blogs.
- Provide specific information. People visiting your website will want to know what type of writing you do (magazines, newspapers, web content), where you have been published before and if you won any awards. You will also need to provide links to articles published online with your byline or upload pdf samples of things originally published in print.
- Register a domain name with GoDaddy or DotEasy, two of the largest domain name registration companies out there. Companies usually run specials where you get free hosting when you register the name with them. Many also offer free templates so you can simply load your information into a pre-designed outline.
- Don’t forget to update your website regularly, as new publications come out. If all you have up there is from 2 years ago, editors may fear that you’re not as prolific as you claim to be.
Tips & Warnings
- If you have nothing published yet, it’s ok to include a few unpublished samples in your website. Otherwise, editors expect to see things that made it into print.
- Make it easy to read. Online text should consist of short paragraphs and simple sentences. Trying to cramp too much information within a small space will just overwhelm the reader.
- Unless you’re targeting a very specific type of publication, avoid including samples of articles on controversial topics on your website. This may turn off some editors and lose you potential clients.
- Don’t go with free hosts. It looks unprofessional. Pay for your own domain name, even if it means waiting a little longer, until you can afford it.
Youtube Poop is a trend that is not going away in the Youtube community. From all the comedy channels in Youtube, Youtube Poop is by far the most popular category of all. Youtube poop is considered anything that uses nonsense material, and spontaneity is definitely the main focus of these Youtube videos. So, if you are wanting to make the best Youtube poop video, you may find your youtube video at the top rankings of the day, if not the month!
Instructions
- Register for the Youtube account, it is free and takes a couple minutes.
- Once registered, decide on what you want to use for the material of your youtube poop video. The most popular types of Youtube Poops are Flash videos, Music Videos, and Tennis Matches.
- Gather the video and audio material, and start to put it all together.
- Create a few sections of the youtube poop video solely for repeating sentences and messing with the audio. You can speed up and slow down the audio tempo anyway you want to, but be sure to keep this seldom, as youtube users and viewers will grow tired of your video, finding it to be unoriginal.
- Use one or two fads that are established in the youtube Poop community. This can be uing a cartoon, famous saying, or a specific image. Again, keep these fads to a minimum of three times per youtube poop video, as people will find it unoriginal if overdone.
Tips & Warnings
- There are no rules to the Youtube Poop, so use your imagination!
- Create as many Youtube Poops as possible in order
- Always state in the information part of your video that you do not own the copyrights to anything you use, and be sure to give the appropriate credit to the rightful owners. Even more, state that the video is for parody, and entertainment purposes only.
Summer is the season of citrus fruit and beautiful flowers. Strawberries are ripe and very famous in California. I have a tremendous desire to treat myself to a real fresh lemon/strawberry smoothie. This is how I made it.
Instructions
- Cut 2 strawberries into small pieces and 1 slice of lemon (about one section of a large lemon). Squeeze the lemon juice into the blender without the seeds
- Add 3 teaspoons of sugar, a half-pinch of salt, and 2 cups of drinking water.
- Put 2 cup of ice in the zip-lock bag and break into small pieces, put into blender.
- You make at home,..!Hit the ‘smoothie’ crème or ‘liquiefy’ button till its all blended smooth.
Pour in a glass, top with fresh mint leaves, or slice of lemon.
Serves 2 people
Tips & Warnings
- For those who have real lemon trees and pick their own fruit, you may want to use protective gloves and watch out for the lemon tree thorns. They can really be harmful to young children and grown ups too. Pick lemons very carefully.