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	<title>Jim Degerstrom, owner of Custom CMS Design LLC, offers custom cms web design services and proven seo advice for search engine optimization with custom cms web designs that allow website owners to add, edit, or delete content in plain text without technical skills.</title>
	<link>http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/author/index/93/Jim-Degerstrom.php</link>
	<description>Jim Degerstrom, owner of Custom CMS Design LLC, offers custom cms web design services and proven seo advice for search engine optimization with custom cms web designs that allow website owners to add, edit, or delete content in plain text without technical skills. - Latest business
news &amp; management advice on how best to build your own business -
Free, independent business articles on Strategy, eBusiness, Change
Management &amp; much, much more.</description>
	<language>en</language>
	<docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss092</docs>
	<pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:20:18 +0000</pubDate>
	<managingEditor>admin@buildyourownbusiness.biz</managingEditor>
	<webMaster>admin@buildyourownbusiness.biz</webMaster>    
	<item>
      <title><strong>Great First Impression with Email</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[You only get one opportunity to make a good first impression, so here's some web design advice for your website about making a great first impression with email. Consider the downside of a website design with links using free email accounts like Hotmail, AOL, or Gmail for online business correspondence before deciding to make free email service your first choice. 

While using a free service may be convenient for those users who want transportability to read or write email from a variety of desktop or mobile devices, the first impression you create may be less than ideal. This is especially true if you actually use that free service email link on your website instead of one to match your domain.

The free email services are fine for personal accounts for family or friends. When a person selects an email link on your commercial website to make an inquiry, the reply should be from an email address that matches your www domain. Besides having a web design that creates a sense of trust, that matching email shows sophistication, too.

If all things are equal comparing your web design to your competition, the professional touch of an email address to match your domain could make the difference when that visitor decides who to contact.

Besides first impression, why is direct email that matches your domain so important? It is more secure than free email services. As a case in point, a web design client chose to use one of the free services in all their business correspondence. After years without incident they replied to an urgent email to re-register their email address or risk losing all previous email and address book with their list of contacts.

The email message was a phishing scam, yet in a panic the client immediately followed the link and entered their sensitive security details for that free email account. As a result their entire client base was spammed by the scam artist with a personal plea to send emergency funds as if &amp;quot;the real owner&amp;quot; was ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Golden Rule Writing for the Web</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Think like a pro to write website content like a pro. It may be easier after reading this short writing tutorial and learning my Golden Rule Writing for the Web. 

Most site owners feel inadequate when it comes to writing about their business unless professional writing is what they do. Hiring a copywriter may be the best option if you have the budget for their services which could be $75 or more per hour depending on their skill level, experience, and education. 

Web content for business requires a different style compared to offline business writing.

Crafting quality business letters is more formal than making an online presentation to convince a website visitor to take a closer look at what you offer. With visitors having 1000's if not millions of choices in Google search results, you have mere seconds to keep them on your website. This tutorial may help.

Consider offline presentations and the formal setting of institutions like the military, at a university, a political speech, a church sermon, or sales training sessions. What do these offline situations have in common? In each the listeners are usually a captive audience, so if they get bored they can't walk away or click to the next lesson, speech, or sermon.

To think like a pro and write web copy like a pro you need to capture your reader's interest instantly and then hold it. Content needs to be concise, interesting, and relevant without institutional formality. Understanding your website visitor's user experience and the path their eyes take as they view a web page will allow you to craft text to create a more favorable first impression. 

Here's the secret of my Golden Rule Writing for the Web: You should spend as much time writing your headline as writing the actual page content. Learn just that if nothing else about web copywriting to enhance the sales success of your website content. Let's take a closer look.

Compare the speeches given at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863 to dedicate a  ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/35/5275/Golden-Rule-Writing-for-the-Web.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/35/5275/Golden-Rule-Writing-for-the-Web.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Danger Running Twitter on Autopilot</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Going from a brick and mortar business to being online requires a strategy for promoting and maintaining brand recognition. 10 years ago some small business owners were slow to accept the importance of having a website, even slower to add a blog, and now some are fighting tooth and nail against having a Twitter account. Before choosing a Twitter strategy, consider the danger of running Twitter on autopilot.

Adding original quality content often is the secret to online success. How to get there often requires having a quality website with a matching blog enhanced with a Twitter account. Taking shortcuts as a strategy on any of those could defeat your website purpose.

Consider Twitter and shortcuts for automating tweets before deciding on the easy route. The issue of duplicate content running Twitter on autopilot may have little impact on search engine ranking for your Twitter account, yet it may affect your reputation with real people. As Twitter matures and external apps are created to maximize efficiency, any automated approach with robots for tweeting becomes easier and easier to identify. 

People you follow who once interacted real time may not respond if they are running Twitter on autopilot.

The reality of how people tweet became very apparent recently when viewing tweets in Tweetdeck. Two people being followed created identical tweets two minutes apart, and each posted automatically using TwitterFeed. The text was identical in word, case, punctuation, and the reference hyperlink. Those were not retweets. They were consecutive tweets in a group column created in Tweetdeck, yet from different persons.

You can tell an account holder is using a robot if their posting method is entirely API, Twitterfeed, or another RSS format. This means tweets are generated and put in queue to &amp;quot;drip feed&amp;quot; into their public timeline to show activity when in fact follower interaction is probably not being monitored.

Twitter is social media. The purpose is ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Custom CMS Web Design Budget</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Consider our expert custom cms web design budget tips when asking for a quote on a new custom cms website or the redesign of an existing site. A custom cms content management system is a good choice to keep down future costs because you or a staff member may manage new site content without technical skills or paying each time for changes.

Web Design Price, Quality, and Value Compared

Our CMS Design Tip #1: Budget funds for as much quality as you can afford for the initial development and launch of your custom cms web design.

Like any consumer product, paying more for quality that lasts provides value for money spent. This is true for a custom cms web design, also. To establish a custom cms web design budget our advice for analyzing web design prices may help you avoid the mistakes others make. 

Value depends on quality, so an expensive price for a nice looking website could be misleading. A cheap price even though nice looking could be a mistake, also. If you look for the cheapest price and lack the technical skills to analyze cms web design quality, you may end up with a clunker that just doesn't perform. Websites and knockoff consumer products can appear like the real deal until they fall apart.

A quick test of quality for any website is to validate the code, so Google the phrase &amp;quot;validate html&amp;quot; to locate the free W3C online tool. Check out a potential designer's work by testing their design. If the site is in xhtml and complies to W3C without errors, that's a good indicator the designer cares about quality. The next tip provides more advice for evaluating a cms web designer.

Choices When Selecting a CMS Web Designer

Our CMS Design Tip #2: Evaluate your options for a source to create the custom cms web design based on their quality and experience.

An amateur cms web designer who states &amp;quot;I can do web design&amp;quot; is probably correct. Children 10 years old or younger at grade school level can design websites. Creating an attrac ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Domain Registration Term and SEO</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Should you take the advice of experts to register your new domain for at least two years or more? Search engine algorithms evolve constantly, and the value of your domain registration term and seo, or search engine optimization, has changed. Website seo strategy needs to be revised over time to be effective.

Being aware of constant changes in Google and other major search engines for seo factors is necessary to maintain a successful website optimization strategy. Ranking well in search results depends on many factors, yet domain registration length is one where the number of years advice for seo is irrelevant.   

Search engines tweak their top secret algorithms used by the crawlers to evaluate websites for trust and credibility. Their goal is providing the best and most relevant search results, so details of how they determine relevance leaves seo experts guessing on the importance of topics like domain registration term and seo. 

Website owners face the task of creating content to attract favorable search position in Google and the other major search engines. The value of on-page original quality content added often is still the essence for online success. The example external seo factor of the number of years for your domain registration is no longer significant for seo, trust, and credibility. 

Our advice when buying a new domain license is still registration for two years, or longer up to five years. However, today the reason for that advice is based on convenience and not seo, so why did that search engine optimization strategy change? The reason to register five years will be explained in a moment, but first some seo background information. 

Years ago seo experts including us advised new site owners to register longer than one year to demonstrate a commitment to be online. The seo logic was search engine robots crawling the internet can access your worldwide registration data and discover the term in years, and were suspicious of new websites re ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Writing Effective Content for Your Website</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Website owners who offer a product or service have 5 seconds to capture the attention of site visitors. If you do not write effective website content to quickly communicate the benefits of what you do, your audience will bounce to the next website in their search results. This bounce rate is the opposite of stickiness. Is your website sticky? These tips on writing effective content for your website can certainly help.

Content needs to describe as much as possible about who, what, where, when, and why on every page with very specific key words and phrases to connect instantly with site visitors including search engines. Avoid technical terms in your website content writing that only those close to your industry understand. 

Key word research is the best way to understand what people really put in the Google search box looking for your product or service. Guess when writing content for your website and your competition may have the edge capturing site visitor attention and converting them to buying customers.

Those key words should be inserted in website content in addition to each page title, description, key word list, and page headlines or subheadings, also. Including photographs or graphics will help convey the message beyond text, so a gallery or showcase can help quickly communicate website content details and create a more positive first impression.

When you use quality photographs to insert in pages, those pictures tell what 1000 words cannot. Your message when writing effective website content needs to be communicated based on real world website visitor behavior. People land anonymously on a website unlike visitors met face to face, so the decisions are different than walking into a brick and mortar business. 

People instantly notice graphics and the overall professional look, and then scan headlines and perhaps a few words in the first sentence of website content in each paragraph. The majority will rarely read your text verbatim. Headlines, b ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/42/4039/Writing-Effective-Content-for-Your-Website.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/42/4039/Writing-Effective-Content-for-Your-Website.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Multimedia and Search Engine Optimization</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[After an email inquiry from a small business website owner who had considered adding a flash presentation to their website, it's time to emphasize the search engine optimization value of flash and other multimedia website content.  For a small business commercial website design, my advice is avoiding content that requires a large file size such as multimedia.  Unless it is absolutely required and does NOT load automatically, visitors on dialup will leave immediately due to the intolerable load time.

Exceptions might be photographers or graphic artists showing high resolution versions of their work, or perhaps a recording studio with sample music or videos.  The average small business owner does not need autoloading multimedia.

Here is a response to the email from the site owner previously mentioned who was considering flash: 

&amp;quot;Why would you want to add a flash scene to your site?  In my list of &amp;quot;Don't do this&amp;quot; for website design, flash is at the top of the list.  It has zero SEO value, and the file size is intolerable for people on dialup.  With more than 50% of internet users still on dialup you cut off half your potential visitors by having flash.  Unlike videos that allow visitors to make a choice of play or not, flash loads automatically and cannot be avoided.  People visit commercial websites for information.  Flash is &amp;quot;entertainment&amp;quot; and most people want answers to problems, so my advice is stay focused on text content that search engines can index.&amp;quot;

Let's consider audio and video next.  Another client wants background music to play automatically when a visitor arrives at any page of her restaurant website.  This is an intrusion of the visitor's expectations and privacy, and could actually get them in trouble. Imagine a visitor at work with their speakers turned up, and searching for an area restaurant to visit that evening.  The embarrassment of being caught engaged in non-work related surfing on company time could ge ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/2305/Multimedia-and-Search-Engine-Optimization.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/2305/Multimedia-and-Search-Engine-Optimization.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Google Crawlers and Stray Cats</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[A favorite topic that I write about is advice for small business website owners to add fresh content often for the benefit of their visitors. Those visitors include search engine crawlers, and the search engine optimization value is enhanced by adding new content frequently. A small business blog is the perfect way to create new site content, and making a post once a week may give you an edge over your competition. 

Consider how many of your small business competitors have a blog. The majority do not. If you are a blogger, a weekly post could be the key advantage beating out the competition and attracting new prospects to your website. 

Let's compare Google crawlers and stray cats with this fun analogy to illustrate the value of providing visitors with tidbits of advice compared to seeing a stray cat near your home and tossing it a small chunk of steak. Do it again each night for 2-3 days. Skip a day and do it again and eventually that cat will come back every day even if you toss the scrap of steak once a week. Search engines are no different. Fresh content, no matter how small, attracts search engines to your site more often. 

Here's an example of the value of posting fresh blog content often. Search Google for tips shooting Moose+Maine and view results. As of the date this article was published, my personal blog was listed #3 and #4 on Google page one out of 353,000 results. It may be different as you read this, yet my Growin' Up in Maine bog is probably still on page one. Here's an explanation of why the results were exceptional which may relate to your small business website or blog because that personal site hasn't been around very long. 

The storytelling blog was a test site for customizing templates and graphics for the new Blogger, and after a couple of weeks my plan was to scrap it. The topic is childhood stories and it ended up being fun, so I kept it online. The Google page one search results for the moose tips happened when the blog was less ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/2145/Google-Crawlers-and-Stray-Cats.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/2145/Google-Crawlers-and-Stray-Cats.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Out of Control WWW Domains</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[People take advantage of small business owners who leap into the online world without the knowledge to make proper choices.  Registration of a www domain gives you a license for a set period of time, and must be renewed to retain control, so you do not own it.  Don't wait to be asked the next question &amp;quot;Do you control your website domain?&amp;quot; because twice in 2007 I designed custom websites for clients who lost control due to an uncooperative originating party who registered the domains in question.

In both cases the client paid for their domain.  In the first instance the registrar simply registered the new domain in their company name, not the client's.  In the more recent situation, my client bought a business and the previous owner did not take action to transfer the registrant information.  Each relationship deteriorated to the point where the clients felt compelled to register another domain, and fortunately the productivity of each business site was insignificant, so the downside of letting it go was minimal.

Each finally realized the risk of a hostile party pulling the plug on their website, and came to me for help.  After lengthy discussions, and advice for attempting to regain control of their www domains, each entrusted me to register a new domain.  The only recognized authority as the bona fide registrant of a domain is the administrative contact listed in the worldwide registry for a given www name.  To be more specific, it is not the person shown, but the email address of the administrative contact in the registration who controls a domain.  

It is not the billing contact.  It is not the registrant.  It is not the technical contact.  All correspondence affecting control of a www domain must originate from the administrative contact email address listed in the registration files.  Regardless of the person listed, whoever can reply to emails as the adminsitrative contact for that domain is the only recognized authority.

Small business o ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Choosing Small Business Website Names</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[I disagree with the comment made by some web developers that all the good domain names are taken.  Search engine optimization, or seo, does not depend heavily on the www name you select.   For my clients just starting out the decision choosing small business website names has never been an issue.  It is a fact that all the 3 character and 4 character domain names with the key extensions are taken.  Furthermore, I agree that a vast number of choice domain names are no longer available; however, the selection of a suitable www domain for your small business is possible if you remain flexible.

The real value in the name you choose from a search perspective is how easy it is to spell and remember.  Of the two types of visitors to your site, the human visitors and search engines, the ability of a person to remember your domain name and spell it correctly to pass it on to others outweighs any SEO value.  Search engines are robots and don't care.

Using words like &amp;quot;greatest&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;best&amp;quot;, or other exaggerated terms in your domain name is thought by some to be a disadvantage and penalized by search engines.  Search algorithms change often and likewise that theory, and although you may not be penalized for using such words, consider the reaction of your human visitors.  They may not stick around if they feel you boast without the content to back it up.  For a serious small business commercial enterprise, my advice is avoiding adjectives in the domain name entirely. 

In some cases new clients approach me to redesign an existing website, and it surprises me that some of the basics are overlooked.  For example, a commercial enterprise in business for profit should not select a dot ORG domain simply because the dot COM was taken.  This was the case from a conversation with a client interested in a site makeover.  Their ORG version was online for two years with little or no backlinks or serious indexing from search engines.  The mindset of getting one parti ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/2079/Choosing-Small-Business-Website-Names.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/2079/Choosing-Small-Business-Website-Names.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Solve the Mystery of Lost Business</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[A new home construction subcontractor was seeking advice about the mystery of lost business because their book rate was less than 20%.  This person was an electrician, yet the principles I present in this article apply to just about any small business.  The opening remark began with a statement that they thought they knew why, so this theorizing meant they were actually uncertain and probably needed a trusted neutral opinion.  Don't guess the reason for lost business when you don't know. Find out.

Many solo small business owners cannot state why they get business or why they lose business.  We make assumptions, or just don't ask.  Until you make it a priority to get both these questions answered, you'll never understand your strengths and weaknesses.  Consider the dynamics of conscious marketing and sales efforts.

After the marketing is done and you find prospects the sales cycle is preapproach, approach, presentation, trial close, answer objections, and final close.  Ask a trusted friend to tell you bluntly if you are weak in any of those areas.  If you lack knowledge of basic sales techniques, it's time to learn.  Marketing extends into the preapproach to understand how decisions are made and the price structure.  The more you prepare and form a strategy, the more likely you are to succeed.

The small business owner in this instance felt his bid invitations were received to leverage the existing contractor on price.  For some of the new home construction jobs he was told his proposal was cheaper, but they awarded the contract based on an established relationship.  People buy based on trust, not just price.  To win over an existing source you need to demonstrate outstanding credibility and trust.  The mystery of lost business for this contractor was still elusive because the right questions were never posed.  

People without any intention of ever buying from you may tell you outright to save both parties time, or perhaps they like you and keep you hangin ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Small Business Blog Writing Tips</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[You launch a new small business blog, and then writer's block kicks in.  What to do?  Here are some tips to help you with ideas for new posts to your blog.  Your blog writing style does not have to be textbook perfect, so informal writing is suitable as long as you check grammar and spelling.  It's okay to entertain as you provide information, too.  Visitors will not expect literary works suitable for a Nobel prize when you create blog posts, so relax.

Write short paragraphs and cover one aspect of what you present in each.  Visitors want information quickly; so long paragraphs should be avoided.  Short posts of 1-2 paragraphs are fine, too.  Most website content is quickly scanned, so headlines and the first few words of each paragraph may be all that most visitors view before deciding to read details, or exit.  

Include key words relative to your subject, and place some near the beginning of sentences for each paragraph, so your visitors get the general feel as they scan your post.  Search engines will visit and index your blog content, too, so key words are important for attracting the search engine crawlers.

Google Alerts and blog labels are two techniques to help you generate new blog post ideas.  Each will be presented in the report Blog Your Way to Fresh Content from my series of free PDF SEO Reports about do-it-yourself small business website promotion that I began to release during 2007.  Some of my clients could not wait, so this article is a preview of how to use these two techniques to come up with post ideas for your blog:

1. Google Alerts is a free service that delivers links to content by email.  Once set up, you automatically receive a collection of current news stories or related content by email with summaries and links to the information.  

2. Your blog labels are the filing system for your blog that cross references your posts by subject category, so visitors may click a label and view all posts about that subject on one page.  Use ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1948/Small-Business-Blog-Writing-Tips.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1948/Small-Business-Blog-Writing-Tips.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Small Business Blog Integration Advice</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Small business owners considering a blog to enhance their website should review the different methods of integrating the content into their main site.  Three options for blogging will be reviewed with suggestions to help you maximize the value to your visitors and search engines.  A blog is an easy method for adding fresh content to your site without paying a web developer for each new page created.

Blogs, aka weblogs, first began as personal daily journals.  An online diary with what you had for lunch does not seem like a practical way to promote a small business.  The vast majority of blogs are still personal and non-commercial, while others have become monetized by including advertisements.  Blogging for business is a trend that deserves attention. 

Times have changed.  Small business blogs are a great opportunity to provide your customers advice, news, and reviews. The value a blog provides to small business owners is fresh content that you may easily add to your site.  Websites that are launched and collect dust without growing will not be search engine magnets.  A good blog should result in your site being visited and indexed by the major search engines frequently.

It's important to understand the structure of a blog compared to your commercial website.

The big difference between your site and the blog is how each is created.  Most websites are done in HTML.  Individual pages are usually created by a web designer with a significant cost per page.  Blogs use templates which allow the owner to easily create posts from a control panel.  Each post becomes a new page, so adding one a week adds 52 pages to your website per year.  Several major online service companies allow you to create a free blog, and you may begin adding content immediately.

For the small business owner, the template and control panel with automatic uploading makes it easy.  Where you choose to host determines how your content is integrated into your site.  This can be a critical  ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1919/Small-Business-Blog-Integration-Advice.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1919/Small-Business-Blog-Integration-Advice.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Solutions to Stop Friendly Spam</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[There is no excuse for forwarding what I call friendly spam which is junk email from known contacts which appears convincing, but is actually spam. Small business owners should be cautious, or you may risk loss in credibility.  In most cases the spam contains an alarming message quoted from a supposedly credible source that shocks the reader and requests that you forward this to everyone you know.  

Unwittingly many small business owners forward junk email without a second thought.  Did they really leave out &amp;quot;In God We Trust&amp;quot; on the new US one dollar coin?  No.  It's stamped on the edge of the coin not on the flat surface.  Sometimes the message is an apparent windfall like this one.  Will Microsoft track your chain letter email and send you $250 for each person who receives it as part of a new test?  No.  It's false, and impossible.  There is no way they could track and collect your outgoing email recipient addresses.

The junk themes are ageless.  In some cases recycled messages that circulated more than 5 years ago get sent years later in the original and identical form or with a slight revision or current twist.  You can and should do something about this every time you get a message that is questionable.

My advice for everyone including small business owners is visit the Urban Legends website and do a search on key words in the topic of any email you receive begging you to forward it to everyone you know.  Urban Legends at www.snopes.com is my choice for debunking false emails.  They track and investigate vast numbers of email hoaxes and give detailed reports on each with either a true or false conclusion.  It is extremely rare that I search a suspicious message and find out that Urban Legends determined it was not a hoax, but that happens, too.

Tip:  When you do have reason to mass email a message, address the message to you or your company as the recipient as well as the sender, and then enter all your contacts in the BCC field.  The BCC  ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1917/Solutions-to-Stop-Friendly-Spam.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1917/Solutions-to-Stop-Friendly-Spam.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Free Ad Supported Website Hosting</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Millions of website owners select low cost or free hosting options that may not be appropriate for commercial or small business websites.  Based on one recent experience with a custom website client, I feel site owners need to understand that free ad supported website hosting is not for everyone.

The ads exchanged for free hosting offered from one major hosting company are described as done by inserting &amp;quot;advertising on a small portion of the site&amp;quot;.  In fact this &amp;quot;small ad&amp;quot; is a top banner that covers the width of the screen with a height of 1.2 inches (30.4mm), and displays 3 separate ads.  The choice of ads placed in the banner advertising is fed based on page content, so your site might feature an advertisement from your competition.  This is fine for non-commercial personal sites, or a website monetized for advertising revenue only.  It is senseless to advertise for your competition.

Website hosting is inexpensive.  The decision to use free ad supported hosting should be considered carefully.   

The cost for paid hosting ranges from modest to outrageous, so many business owners fall victim to overpriced hosting services because of inexperience.  Some pay $1000's USD per year for their domain, hosting, and maintenance when in fact their site is static and nothing is ever added.  A monthly fee based on the contingency that something might need to be changed in the future is a waste of money if your website is launched and just gathers dust.  If it is dynamic adding content frequently and you receive value for money, monthly fees are practical.

Tip: You do NOT have to include the copyright date on your web pages.  Using the copyright symbol and the year means you have an obsolete website a year later.  The cost to change the date each January hardly justifies paying thousands annually in monthly fees.  Published material is covered locally and internationally by copyright law without specifying the year or including a copyright statem ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1879/Free-Ad-Supported-Website-Hosting.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1879/Free-Ad-Supported-Website-Hosting.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Small Business Website Failures</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Before starting that great new website for your small business, consider your expectations carefully.  Most entrepreneurs with their first website lack the experience to know what is truly required to be successful online.  Website failure may be defined as anything from total catastrophe to simply results less than expectations.  Each can occur even if you have a gorgeous well-designed site.

Don't expect search engine success with high traffic and added revenue instantly.  It is rare.

Here's the short list of what you need if your goal is website traffic and new customers.  These facts have been overlooked or misunderstood by many of my small business clients, and in most cases the errors of omission are due to inexperience.

1. You need a trusted site with name, address and phone number, not just a PO Box.
2. You need to be online 6-12 months or longer to achieve search engine ranking.
3. You need a large site with 10-20 or more pages of quality content for credibility.

Discuss your needs with your site designer.  It should not be a cousin, uncle, or friend who happens to have software to make websites.  A truly successful site takes more... much more.  Professional help may be more cost effective than you realize.  Some service providers will try to take advantage just because you are in business.  I regularly save clients more than they pay me for designs by helping them shop for economical service providers for their domain and hosting.

Realistic expectations up front will help you avoid disappointment.  Be prepared with an ongoing annual budget to add fresh content and features to your site.  A smaller site is okay to get started.  If you cannot meet the goals in the above list, your traffic and new customers must be pointed to your site with direct marketing efforts.  If presenting your company online achieves a positive first impression that may be enough to begin.  As your budget increases you can revise expectations as you continue to grow  ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1866/Small-Business-Website-Failures.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1866/Small-Business-Website-Failures.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Corporate Image and Print Strategy</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Present a positive first impression with your logo, business card, post card, and trifold brochure, but don't try to finalize your sales in print.  Realistic goals for each of your printed marketing materials should be considered before trying to fit your company history on the back of a business card.

Understanding the purpose of your printed materials is the basis of my print strategy advice.  The viewer's reaction to your corporate image in print is like having a silent salesperson 24/7.  Marketing materials are not intended to close orders.  They should stimulate interest based on a professional image.  Don't overdo it or your efforts may backfire.

Business Card
Your business card is the introduction.  That's all.  A professional look and positive first impression may get you to the next step.  If you attempt to sell your product or service on your card, it will most likely be too crowded and ruin the purpose.  The back of your card should be used and include a small ad that goes beyond who you are, and briefly presents the benefits of what you do.  Keep the design simple.  Violate what I call My 5 Second Rule for Small Business Owners, and the card will be tossed.  Search my name and &amp;quot;5 Second Rule&amp;quot; to find the full article. 

Post Card or Flyer
A 4x6 or 5x7 flyer or post card is an introduction, also.  However, with more space for creating a favorable first impression a design with less content is still more effective, and preferred.  The purpose here is to impress the viewer and include a call to action which may be as simple as call us or visit our website.  For example, I created full color artwork for a real estate post card that tells how effective the &amp;quot;less equals more&amp;quot; worked.  The message was simply &amp;quot;If you are looking to sell, buy, or rent, please give me a call&amp;quot;, and it worked wonders.  The stunning graphics included a gorgeous background photo of Orlando and the real estate broker in the foreground.  Again, yo ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/57/1793/Corporate-Image-and-Print-Strategy.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/57/1793/Corporate-Image-and-Print-Strategy.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Fight Against Phishing to Protect Your Reputation and Money</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[The problem of phishing, pronounced just like &amp;quot;fishing&amp;quot; and very similar in tactics, continues to grow in the USA.  In short, unscrupulous persons attempt to defraud unsuspecting consumers by imitating legitimate businesses through email and fake websites.  Most scams begin with an email that is broadcast to millions in the hope that a small percentage will take the bait.  

These thieves impersonate real businesses such as eBay or PayPal and large banks or credit card companies, and they use scare tactics in their email message asking the reader to visit their site immediately to help them recover missing information.

The link provided in the email then takes the victim to a bogus site designed to look like an official website, however, the request to reconfirm personal information such as account numbers, passwords, or social security numbers is a scam.  Once the criminal has collected your personal data the real nightmare begins.

Crime never takes a vacation, and daily errors in judgment has cost countless people and small business owners in the USA time and money attempting to recover losses from stolen identity.  Avoid becoming a victim if you receive any email that may be suspicious.  Instead of following the website link in the email, open your browser and visit the official site and look for &amp;quot;support&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;news&amp;quot;, or &amp;quot;FAQs&amp;quot; to search for details.

The legitimate companies will have announcements on their sites including advice if there is a problem.  If you have any doubt, email their customer support department and explain the message you received or call them by telephone.     

Have you become a victim of phishing or identity theft?  The US Federal Trade Commission outlines 4 steps to take if you suspect your identity and personal financial information has been compromised. 

1. Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your credit report. ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1539/Fight-Against-Phishing-to-Protect-Your-Reputation-and-Money.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1539/Fight-Against-Phishing-to-Protect-Your-Reputation-and-Money.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Another Turnkey Online Business Disaster Report</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[This is an excerpt from an emailed reply to a small business client who lost more than $10,000 making poor choices buying several online turnkey websites.  Read between the lines for important advice to help you avoid this costly mistake.

Case Study Background Information

A single Mom with online business ambitions became a website design client after experiencing total disaster the previous two years.  The client is foreign born and speaks conversational English, so without adequate pc skills or the ability to create business correspondence in English, over the course of time she fell victim to what I would characterize as online scams.  Many decisions were based on late night television commercials, and trusted advisors were what she really needed.  Each of her 8-10 www domains made zero dollars over two years, yet she continued ignoring my advice in the hope of salvaging these cookie cutter sites into a profitable business.

Here is the message sent by email.  Company names have been replaced with their product or service to avoid identifying them or her.  

You shouldn't do too many web sites all at once.  Success on the internet takes more than just having web sites.  If you don't have products from companies that you can trust, you will be lost and your money will be lost, too.  
 
I'm not sure if you have someone giving you advice, or if you search the internet and decide what to do next, but the success you imagine can't happen by magic.  It takes knowledge and experience, and then long hours and hard work.  The commercials on television late at night are often too good to be true, and with them you have one web site that looks like 1000 others (or 10,000 in the case of the gas pill company).
 
The gas pill business was a big disaster no matter what happens with their legal case later this year.  Like the wholesale products company, buyers have 1000's of online stores that all look the same, so you need to understand competition, and how to win ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1270/Another-Turnkey-Online-Business-Disaster-Report.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1270/Another-Turnkey-Online-Business-Disaster-Report.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Tap Customer Referrals, The Hidden Gold Mine</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[This simple yet effective technique can boost your sales with very little effort. Learn what many small business owners have overlooked and how this easy referral system can help promote your business!

Boost your sales with an easy to execute plan for gaining recommendations from your customers. For small business owners, referrals are one of the most overlooked means of increasing revenue. Here's some advice and a sales lesson so you don't miss this gold mine of opportunity, plus a few tips to help you feel comfortable doing it. The last and most effective step in the sales process is &amp;quot;ask for the order&amp;quot;.

This applies to referrals. Try it with your customers instead of taking a passive approach waiting for someone to recommend your product or service. Contact your existing clients and ask. You may be surprised with the results. This advice works equally well for land based or online businesses. Your customers appreciate what you do. Most of us lose touch or just forget to say thank you. By tactfully asking for a referral, most clients will jump at the opportunity.

Contact them. Thank them. Ask &amp;quot;How would you feel about referring me to your business neighbors or peers?&amp;quot; Most will say &amp;quot;Sure.&amp;quot;, so be prepared to help them in the process with &amp;quot;Great! Thanks. What can I do, or what can I provide to help? You need my brochure, web address, or business card?&amp;quot; Hint: Begin your question open ended. If you simply ask &amp;quot;Will you give me a referral?&amp;quot; the answer can be &amp;quot;yes&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;no&amp;quot;, so let them open up. &amp;quot;How would you feel...&amp;quot; gives the person an opportunity to explain in more depth. My scenario may not fit your business precisely, so think through how you would offer to help, but ASK. Your customers are yours for a reason. They appreciate what you do. They just haven't found time to thank you. With this request for a recommendation, you open the door for them to do something for you that c ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1147/Tap-Customer-Referrals-The-Hidden-Gold-Mine.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1147/Tap-Customer-Referrals-The-Hidden-Gold-Mine.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Internet Explorer 7 Browser and Small Business Websites</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[From BETA version to final release on 18 Oct 2006, the talk about the new Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 browser replacement for the 5 year old IE6 includes a variety of conflicting opinions.  Some sources of information are outdated from as far back as 2005, so use caution when searching for advice or reviews from experts you find online.  Here is an example that may cause concern with small business website owners.

Quote: In July 2005, this comment about the BETA version of the IE7 browser was published and quoted on PC Magazine's website:  &amp;quot;At present, IE7 has a problem rendering some web pages. According to Microsoft, this is caused by the sites, which need to update their detection code for IE7.&amp;quot;

As of 19 Oct 2006, the link to this comment still displays near the top listings if you search in Google for &amp;quot;IE7+reviews&amp;quot;, so don't be deceived by outdated information.

According to Microsoft &amp;quot;Internet Explorer 7 provides significant security improvements, making it far more secure than IE6. While Microsoft is encouraging everyone to upgrade to IE7, the application will not be installed without user consent during the Auto Update process. In addition, users will be able to rollback to Internet Explorer 6 by removing Internet Explorer 7 through the Windows Control Panel Add/Remove Programs utility.&amp;quot;

Small business owners may not have the time to study the latest trends in online browsers, and some changes may take them by surprise.  The new version of the browser is offered during automatic updates.  For business owners inexperienced in selecting options for auto updates, the new IE7 may be installed without realizing alternatives exist.  If this happens to you, do not be alarmed.  You probably needed it, especially the security enhancements.  

Misinformation abounds, so use caution when anyone makes statements comparing IE7 to Y2K.  Based on a variety of comments seen already, some website designers would have you believe th ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1110/Internet-Explorer-7-Browser-and-Small-Business-Websites.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/1110/Internet-Explorer-7-Browser-and-Small-Business-Websites.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Tips to Add Credibility to Your Web Directory Listings</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Quality backlinks add value to search engine rankings; however each website directory has rules that you need to follow to avoid having your efforts backfire.


Natural linking to add related one-way links to your website is an accepted method for boosting search engine ranking.  Done properly, the results will be worthwhile.  If you are determined to take shortcuts, consider the consequences.  There are valid services who will hand submit your URL to directories, and the best will provide evidence of value for money paid.

Quick and low cost solutions may backfire because others may broadcast your site to 500-1000 or more sites for $19.95, or some similar number up to $99, with varying results.  You may see ads for one million sites for some ridiculously low amount.  You need to think twice about where your www domain will end up listed.  A low price may not be a good price.

None of the services can guarantee you will be approved and listed to all that receive your submission.  Each directory has rules, and although some will automatically add your URL, most are reviewed by a human editor prior to approval.

My advice is doing it yourself.  Unless you hand submit your www domain to website directories, the quality backlinks you expect from a service company could leave you wondering if your efforts were in vain.  By physically visiting each site and reviewing their guidelines, you improve your chances of being approved.  More importantly, the rules change.

For example, I developed a list of 150 well established directories that accept free listing of your URL.  For natural listing, I choose to submit 5 per day to avoid a spike in backlinks that may be perceived as spam by the search engines.

In the course of submitting over several months, I discovered some directories change policy due to the large number of sites submitted and then they do one of three things.  They charge a fee, require a reciprocal link, or temporarily discontinue accepting free ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/35/602/Tips-to-Add-Credibility-to-Your-Web-Directory-Listings.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/35/602/Tips-to-Add-Credibility-to-Your-Web-Directory-Listings.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Tips Before Buying a Turnkey Online Business</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[You need to be careful browsing through online turnkey offers to avoid serious financial loss.  Everyone has at least one horror story involving online scams, and some are more personal because they were a victim.  Once I receive my check for $14,000,000 from Nairobi I can retire from writing advice for small business owners and designing web sites.  Wish me luck!

Consider the line from the movie &amp;quot;Field of Dreams&amp;quot; saying &amp;quot;If you build it, they will come&amp;quot;.  This does not apply to websites.  Online, the P.T. Barnum adage &amp;quot;There's a sucker born every minute&amp;quot; is too often the case when it comes to  purchasing a turnkey online business.  Think before you hand off your hard earned cash.  You could become victim of an online scam.

In the real world, individuals with novice internet skills are becoming victims every day.  An honest person is more apt to believe what they read online because it's in their character to trust things in writing.  Stories of instant wealth with turnkey websites help perpetuate the elusive dream, especially when the reader has little or no business experience.  Let's examine a true case involving one of my clients, and the extreme nature of what can happen.

Imagine this single Mom, struggling to make ends meet while living off the proceeds of a real estate sale, and she encounters a variety of online ads filled with exaggeration and promising the opportunity of a lifetime.  Over time, and before meeting me, she purchased 7 prepackaged web sites for a variety of online products and services thinking that money would roll in automatically.  To put her online marketing in perspective, only recently she grew more comfortable sending and receiving email.

Her total cost for 7 sites exceeded $10,000 two years ago with zero profit to date.  Most of the sites were cookie cutter turnkey subdomains with insignificant search engine ranking.  In general, the top level domains were poorly coded with grade school level  ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/567/Tips-Before-Buying-a-Turnkey-Online-Business.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/567/Tips-Before-Buying-a-Turnkey-Online-Business.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Overcome Writer's Block to Create New Articles Faster</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Small business owners would do well to consider writing an article a week about the solutions offered when clients do business with you.  These may be published at no cost by online article syndicates, and each will have a link back to your website.  Having outside links TO your site is one of the keys to improving search engine ranking.

Important: Write from a neutral point of view.  You are not selling your product or service; you are selling your reputation as an expert.  Do not include any pricing or offers.  Write as if you were explaining something to your neighbor or someone who would never ever become your customer.

Years ago I had cartoons published in various business newsletters, and sometimes the tough part was coming up with ideas.  I developed a system that worked beautifully.  Instead of taking 8 hours to come up with a humorous situation and then 4 hours to draw the cartoon, I was able to get several concepts in 10 minutes, and do 2-3 cartoons in 8 hours total.  Here's my system with a twist for article writing, and it works.

GETTING IDEAS

Do this exercise and fill in the blanks.  You know _____ when _____.  The first blank is a problem and the second blank is the reason or result of the problem.  It's easy to come up with an idea-a-minute instead of spending late nights in tears with writer's block.  Do half a dozen and then pick the best one to write your article.

Example:
You know your customers will go away when you forget to say thank you.

OUTLINE SKELETON

Next, for the outline of the article, I use a 3-step rough layout that takes the reader to the happy ending in a logical order.  The skeleton can be simple phrases without complete sentences and just enough to keep your thought process on track as you work through the article.

Situation (one liner from fill in the blanks above)
Action (solution to solving the problem)
Results (describe the outcome and include stats if appropriate)

THE ARTICLE

Articles need to b ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/566/Overcome-Writers-Block-to-Create-New-Articles-Faster.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/56/566/Overcome-Writers-Block-to-Create-New-Articles-Faster.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Protecting Your Corporate Image and Market Identity</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Advice for presenting your logo consistently in your marketing materials

Entrepreneurs, especially small business owners, are usually too busy running their companies to find time to study marketing principles. Sales and service are priorities, so although you wear many hats, the ones for image consultant or marketing 101 are buried deep in the back room. Matching graphics in print and online provide a familiar look which helps prospects remember your company.

How can you take control of your corporate image in the least amount of time? The following tips will provide practical advice for maintaining a consistent look in print and online without wasting a lot of time becoming an expert. Your logo is the central element of your market identity. Learning a few buzz words will help you protect it and take control.

Your Logo
Having a company logo professionally designed with a unique symbol or stylish text may not be in your budget. Some small business entreprenuers are happy with their name in simple text in a specific color which is okay. Advice is provided for both situations.

Tip #1: For a simple text logo, make sure you know the font name so you can tell a web designer or printing company your specifications for the font. For color, the first time you have something printed ask your vendor for the RGB values and CMYK values for that color. Record the font, RGB, and CMYK specs for future reference. * Note: You do not need to know the technical details of these 3 terms. Your printer or designer will know.

Tip #2: For a complex or full color logo, having actual artwork is critical to protecting your business. If a designer is unwilling to give you the artwork, you may want to try another designer. Do-it-yourself software preloaded in most computers is usually inadequate for techncial reasons. Your actual artwork should be created using vector art graphics software. Affordable vector art programs are available if you do decide to create a design.

Why ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/46/363/Protecting-Your-Corporate-Image-and-Market-Identity.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/46/363/Protecting-Your-Corporate-Image-and-Market-Identity.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Case Study: An eBook Online Business Plan</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Success online depends on having a plan, or more specifically a business plan. Often, very often actually, clients contact a designer with a burning passion to have a new web site online, and fast. Success takes more than waking up bug-eyed at 2:00am with the brainstorm of the century. You need to outline (and fill in) a real business plan and make adjustments before the official launch.

Citing an actual case for an online eBook business, I advised the aspiring entrepreneur to provide more information. Thinking through the questions and answers is a vital step towards developing a good business plan.

- Do you have a logo for your company?
- If no logo, what color scheme do you like?
- How many products (eBooks) will you offer?
- Are they all written and ready to go?
- Do you have cover art for your books?
- What system of e-commerce do you intend to use?
- Will you offer just pdf or exe formats, or both?
- Do you have the domain, plus registration and hosting?
- Do you have a projected launch date scheduled?
- How many affiliate products do you have to offer?

Defining what you do, your market, and how you intend to be different are vital considerations. You only get one chance to make a good first impression.

For an eBook online business, the competition is fierce and filled with some shady characters. When you begin the process of planning before jumping in, consider your image first and then answer &amp;quot;How will I establish credibility up front?&amp;quot;. Weave this into your business plan and you should do well. Don't act before thinking or you may be perceived as just another online marketeer.

To summarize:

1. Your Image - Have a stunning set of graphics for your corporate image to make a favorable first impression. Hire a pro if it's in your budget.
2. Establishing Credibility - solicit opinions from trusted people to give honest feedback about first impression and credibility, good or bad.
3. The Plan - Outlines or templates for crea ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/35/362/Case-Study-An-eBook-Online-Business-Plan.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/35/362/Case-Study-An-eBook-Online-Business-Plan.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Press Release System for Free Advertising</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[If you have a low budget or no budget your advertising campaign can still be done for free, and a small business owner can get free ads with large publishers.

Magazines and other print publications have an ad to content ratio to maintain for legal reasons, and sometimes an issue has a blank space just waiting for an interesting press release (content) to match the size of an ad that they want to squeeze in for maximum revenue.

I once developed a free ad campaign for a manufacturing company on a product line that hadn't changed in 30 years. How do you say something new about a dinosaur? Forget features and focus on the benefits.

Research and create a directory of publishers in your industry, and then contact them for the proper editor responsible for reviewing press releases for your line. Their web site may have what you need, otherwise these editors will tell you what they want, the format, and requirements for accompanying photos. Make a database from your list, and then get ready to send them a press release every month (forever).

Develop a dozen press releases about the benefits of 12 different products with professional quality photos. Divide your database of publishers into 12 groups, and then rotate press releases so all 12 go out to someone every month, and track your system carefully so each editor gets a different release each month for a year.

You can start all over a year later with the same press releases or develop new ones if you are introducing new products. What happens next?

Eventually you will be published. Most send you bingo cards to report interested readers, and then it's time for followup. My system generated 100+ leads a month, so be prepared with a good followup system and don't let the bingo cards get stale.

For most small business owners a single employee can handle the mailing and followup once the press releases, quality photos, and phone routine or form letters are ready. With discipline and patience, it will work! ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/361/Press-Release-System-for-Free-Advertising.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/361/Press-Release-System-for-Free-Advertising.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Why You Need to Visit 'WhoIs'</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Recent case studies of 5 small business owners who had their web sites disappear from the internet may be the subject of an upcoming eBook. The situation happens more frequently than some people realize, so the following advice is being released now. Free domain registration information is easily retrieved and should be reviewed by any site owner who is unfamiliar with the term &amp;quot;WhoIs&amp;quot;.

Many web site owners may not know what WhoIs means, so here is the short version and action plan. Do this today!

Web sites disappear for a variety of reasons, and small business owners are particularly susceptible to this problem because they are too busy running a business to learn about risks involved with a www domain or hosting.

Here is an outline of the basic cause in each of the 5 case studies:

1. Inactive Administrative Contact Email Address 2. Hidden Registrar and Incorrect Registrant 3. Expired Credit Card for Hosting 4. Hijacked Domain and Identity Theft 5. An Example of an ISP Shown as the Registrant

Learn from the mistakes that others have made, and in a few easy steps you can prevent this unfortunate surprise. Advice includes a cast of characters that may not be familiar. Let's introduce them first so you understand the difference between registry, registrar, and registrant.

Registry - the worldwide authority that controls issuing of www domains to avoid duplicates

Registrar - a service company authorized to register or renew domains with the registry

Registrant - the entity, person or company, who owns the license for a particular www domain * Note: No one owns a domain. Registering is an exclusive license for a set period of time.

Most web site owners acquire a www domain for personal or business use through a registrar who acts on your behalf and applies for your domain with the registry. Approval is usually received within 24 hours. Your registration information is then kept on file with the registry. This is long forgotten until  ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/35/360/Why-You-Need-to-Visit-WhoIs.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/35/360/Why-You-Need-to-Visit-WhoIs.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Evaluate Your Website Risk for Becoming Obsolete</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Small business owners satisfied with the look of their commercial website may be in for a surprise, soon. Some designers have ignored advice from the Worldwide Web Consortium, W3C, the international authority establishing standards for code to create web sites. There are new reasons to reconsider the W3C recommendations.

Browser companies choose what they will support within the W3C standards, and most try to fully comply. Your pages may continue looking okay for years to come because most browsers will support your code no matter what W3C recommends. The impact on search engines may be the real issue, however, and could be more serious in 2 years, or less.

What's expected to happen? The search engine wars are a constant battle of changing the math algorithms to list search results. Too often the results are loaded up front with nonsensical or unrelated sites because of creative designers who get high ranking with remotely related sites, plus a ton of phone directory lists, or other paid listings near the top. The value to the person using the search engine is diminished, and this trend has not been overlooked by the major search engines. They each want to be the best.

Top search engine optimization experts are predicting that the methods used for listings must and will become friendlier to the real customer, the person searching. Some are suggesting that part of this improvement includes placing higher value for ranking on sites with valid code. Site owners enjoying Google page 1 listing, may very soon find their home page back 100 pages or worse if they do not have zero or near zero code errors. This is especially important for commercial sites designed more than 5 years ago.

When you consider most web designs may never become obsolete because browser companies have too much to lose not supporting older code, why the big fuss?

W3C has other recommendations some designers choose to ignore including XHTML which is a code standard designed for the futu ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>My 5 Second Rule for Small Business Owners</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Opening a new business in the real world or online in cyberspace requires thinking beyond all the money you will make. Most small business owners are clear on their ultimate goal, yet often many fail to spend time planning their marketing image. To succeed, first impressions are critical, or you may violate what I call My 5 Second Rule:

When a new prospect finds your web site, you have 5 seconds to convince them to stay.

The rule applies in the physical world, also. Your printed materials may be dumped in the trash just as quickly, or a visitor to your company may browse briefly while in fact the no sale decision was made in those critical first few seconds.

Regardless of your business, your image as a professional and credible source for a product or service depends on making a positive first impression. While most people don't realize the subconscious dynamics that occur during an introduction, how you are perceived is clouded with prejudice.

In a face to face meeting, subconsciously your prospect will categorize you immediately by sex, age, and race. This fact may be hard to believe, however, individual life experiences connect your combination of these 3 characteristics into a fixed profile based on past encounters. Overcoming any negatives begins when you speak. A warm and friendly approach while being prepared to offer the benefits of doing business will help you succeed.

In print, your business card, ad, or brochure tells a similar story without the subconscious human preconceptions. The message will still elicit a reaction, good or bad, so how you present your company in print needs to get past My 5 Second Rule. This is equally true for the home page of your web site. Here's some advice.

Customers have a need (problem), and you provide a product or service (solution). Matching these 2 for a successful sale is easier than most people realize. Front door selling, printed ads, or online web offers should all address the benefits (solution, aga ..]]></description>
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