The Hyatt Best in Business Blog List has been created to help you navigate to some of the best online small business resources. Scroll down to read posts from Hyatt and our guest experts.
December 10, 2009
flyte blog: Rich Brooks
BIO
Rich Brooks is the founder and president of flyte new media and a professional speaker on social media and Web marketing. As a Web site designer and the “tech guru” for his local news station, he blogs about Web marketing strategies for small businesses.
The following article is from Rich’s site, flyte blog.
Questioning 6 Blogging “Truths”
Attending BlogWorld this year generated a lot of questions in my mind about blogging and challenged some assumptions I’ve held dear for perhaps too long. I’m not saying that all of these items below are wrong, but just that they deserve closer inspection.
1. The importance of your subscribers. Look, I love my subscribers, especially you. It’s great that people subscribe to our blog. However, the stats bear this out: search engines deliver over 73% of our traffic, and over 85% of our traffic comes from first time visitors. What we need to do now is capture these names by making them an offer they can’t refuse.
2. The importance of comments. (Oh my God! He just shot a white elephant!) Look, I love seeing comments, just like I love seeing replies and RTs when I tweet something. It’s nice to see social proof that your posts are having an impact. However, comments aren’t clients. Quite honestly, I’d prefer to have people fill out our contact form on our Web site than leave a comment. (Interestingly, this blog feeds automatically into my Facebook profile, and I get more comments THERE than I do HERE.)
3. The importance of categories. I’m not claiming that categories are not important, but as I look at my stats, the most popular category page for the last month was the Entrepreneur and Small Business category, which placed a less-than-stellar 52nd most popular page. It accounted for 38 page views out of 9,640 page views for the month. And although math makes my head hurt, that’s like just shy of .4%, right?
And, of that small sliver, some percentage of those page views are coming from the category tags below each post, not the category navigation. So, it’s an even smaller percentage of visitors who are clicking on those links. Also, all those links are reducing the value of other, more important links on my blog.
Maybe a better approach would be to de-emphasize or even completely remove categories and replace them with a search (which has a smaller footprint anyway.) I could use that space to link to “top” posts, whether by views or blogger decree. Alternatively, put a better call-to-action there, generating more email newsletter signups or traffic to our Web site for conversion.
4. The importance of RSS. “Oh no you did-dn’t!” OK, I’m not giving up my RSS feed anytime soon. We get a lot of subscribers via RSS and I can see from my stats that some people are accessing the blog that way (although, anecdotally, a smaller percentage than before). However, it’s a dirty little secret among many of the people at BlogWorld that many of us rarely check our RSS feeds anymore. Instead, we get alerted of the best posts from people we trust on Twitter.
5. The importance of blogrolls. I used to implore clients to include a blogroll. “A blog without a blogroll is like a dead end in the blogosphere. I don’t link to blogs that don’t share the love.” That was then, this is now. Personally, I rarely click on links from someone else’s blogroll anymore, and I don’t know what value there is for the blog owner. (However, I am much more likely to click on a link to another blog that’s appears within a blog post. Too many blogrolls are simply a collection of dust bunnies that the author no longer even reads.)
6. The importance of pinging. Again, I’m not going to stop pinging (through services like Pingoat,) because it takes almost no time or energy to do so; however, I’m not seeing traffic from the Web sites I’m pinging. Maybe there are some secondary benefits, like PageRank, but I’m not sure.
November 22, 2009
Young Entrepreneur: Matthew & Adam Toren
BIO
Matthew and Adam Toren own and operate a media company and several online companies, including YoungEntrepreneur.com and Blogtrepreneur.com. As young experienced entrepreneurs, their blog topics harness the entrepreneurial spirit and new venture mindset. They recently wrote Kidpreneurs, a kid-friendly book outlining business basics, Kidpreneurs.org.
The following article is from Matthew and Adam’s site, Young Entrepreneur.
The Perfect Pitch
I have always found that throughout the course of a day, I am certain to meet up with someone who asks ‘So, what do you do?’, whether this be online, in person, or on the phone. Every encounter that you have is a business opportunity. That’s why having a 15-second pitch that tells about yourself and what you do is a must. A 15-second pitch is a business essential. It will sell your business to potential clients, serve as an effective introduction at networking events or seminars, and be the grabber that attracts an investor’s attention.
The length of your pitch is important. You want to draw in your listener, keep them interested and convey essential information about what you do without taking up too much of their time or providing them with too much information at one time. With that said, here’s how you can create the perfect pitch:
First, organize your thoughts. Write down on a piece of paper a few sentences about what you do, what is unique about what you do, who you do it for, the solutions or benefits of what you do, and why you are the best at what you do. Write words or short phrases that best describe what you do, your clients and your significant achievements. But remember, your pitch should only focus on one thing. If, for example, you’re a software developer and website designer, you would need to create two separate pitches.
Second, develop your pitch. Take your descriptive words and develop sentences that specifically convey what you do. The key here is to keep it short, but effective. Your pitch should end with a sentence that invites the listener to respond to a desired action, such as setting up a meeting, providing your business card, or sending them more information. Here’s an example of an effective 15-second pitch: “I make learning fun! I am a software developer for interactive math and reading programs for preschool children. I have 12 years of experience and some of my clients are LeapFrog and Playschool. Would you like my business card?”
Lastly, practice, practice, practice. Recite your 15-second pitch in front of the mirror so you become comfortable with it. You might also want to use a video camera or tape recorder to see and hear how your pitch will sound to others. Practice it on family members or friends. You want to memorize your pitch, but keep it natural so it doesn’t sound staged.
Above all else, make your 15-second pitch memorable. You want your listener to remember your encounter for when the situation arises when they or someone they know needs your services. Delivering a pitch that “wows” them will certainly put you at the top of their list.
November 21, 2009
Small Business Growth Strategies: Stephanie Chandler
BIO
Stephanie Chandler is an author of several books including “LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business.” She is also founder of AuthorityPublishing.com, which provides custom publishing and internet marketing services. Stephanie’s blog covers the passion, persistence and strategies needed to grow a small business.
The following article is from Stephanie’s site, Small Business Growth Strategies.
Learn from my mistake–Be available when the media calls!
A few weeks ago my son was sick so I rearranged my schedule, sent my calls to voice mail and stayed home for a day. I usually check voice mail throughout the day, but I was so wrapped up in Elmo videos and popsicles that I didn’t get to it until the next morning. When I finally checked in, I discovered an “urgent” call from a writer for Fortune Small Business magazine. I returned his call, but it was too late—he found another source. (ouch!)
When I send out a press release or contact media for any reason, I make sure I’m ready for calls. I learned that lesson the hard way after sending out my very first press release several years ago. I headed for the mall and within an hour my cell phone rang. I ended up taking a call from a reporter from a dressing room at Macy’s!
I thought I had all the right processes in place. I even have a special extension on my company phone tree so that media calls are routed to me wherever I am. But it only works if I pick up the phone or check voice mail in a timely manner.
Here we are, several weeks later, and I’m still reeling from the missed opportunity. Lesson learned: be available! I should have asked my assistant to check calls for me. Next time I will.
By the way, if you want to be a source for the media, update your blog regularly, maintain your online visibility through social media and Internet marketing strategies, add a media page to your website and answer your phone! They will call. But you need to be available to seize the opportunity when it comes.
October 30, 2009
Business Know How: Janet Attard
BIO
Janet Attard is the founder of Business Know-How and the CEO of Attard Communications, Inc. Knowing first-hand the time crunch in running a small business, her blog and Web site offer timely tips, ideas and resources for marketing and growing businesses.
The following article is from Janet’s site, Business Know How.
Minimize Opening Delays
Are you planning to open a new store in town? Or, perhaps you’re planning to rent space and open a daycare center or a new restaurant, or a bookstore with a little café in the back? Before you sign the contract to rent space, or for that matter, before you sign a contract to buy an existing business or franchise, find out what permits and licenses you’ll require to open your doors and stay open.
The reason: If you don’t have the proper permits and licenses or your establishment doesn’t comply with fire codes, food regulations, or other codes or rules that apply to your type of business in your grand opening could be delayed – for a month, two months or even up to six months or more! Meanwhile, during the time you’re unable to open, you’ll be stuck paying rent, utilities, franchise fees, equipment loans, and startup expenses without any income coming in to help with the bills.
The type of regulations with which your business will need to comply and the government agencies involved will depend on what kind of business you’re opening and where it’s located. To save time, call a nearby Small Business Development Center or SCORE office and ask if they have someone there who can help you determine what licenses, permits and inspections you’ll need to open your business to the public.
If possible, contact businesses that have recently opened in your area and ask how long it took them to get everything in order for government officials. (Try to find similar businesses that don’t compete for the same customers as you do.)
Once you’ve gathered the information, be sure to include the costs of licenses and permits and any typical delays experienced by other businesses into your financial estimates for the opening. If you don’t, you run a very real risk of having too little cash on hand once you can open to make a go of the business.
Startup Princess: Kelly Anderson
BIO
Kelly King Anderson is the managing director of Startup Princess, an international network for women entrepreneurs. Kelly and her team of writers post articles about growing businesses as well as growing as a leader. She also does spotlight interviews with other top women entrepreneurs.
The following article is from Kelly’s site, Startup Princess.
What Type of Entrepreneur Are You?
Today I had the pleasure of interviewing serial entrepreneur Brent Bishop, chairman of one of my favorite companies–the hip and whimsical kid’s brand, Naartjie and also chairman of the web security software company, Content Watch. Previous to these businesses he founded Greenbacks All-a-Dollar (1991), where he served as CEO and, over a 12-year period, was responsible for growing the company from one to one hundred retail stores in ten states. Under Brent’s leadership, Greenbacks was sold to Dollar Tree in July of 2003 in excess of 100 million dollars. Previous to starting Greenbacks, Brent was a co-founder of Franklin Covey (formerly Franklin Quest). When it comes to entrepreneurship, you’d probably agree with me that Brent knows what he’s talking about!
I originally met Brent when I was trying to get my own retail concept off the ground a couple of years ago and he generously mentored me and advised me on the concept and business model. I didn’t end up developing the company past a holiday kiosk, but I learned to respect even more for what he has accomplished and what he’s creating now. Today’s conversation centered around faith and entrepreneurship but before we discussed that topic Brent wanted me to understand two fundamental “types” of entrepreneurs.
The first type of entrepreneur is the Visionary, who sees the whole world as a field of opportunities and has all sorts of ideas for how to solve problems or improve things. The second type of entrepreneur has spent most of their career in corporate operations with formal training.
Brent acknowledged that most CEO’s of large companies are the visionary types–while the COO’s they hire are the operational types. The trick for the small business owner is that you might be naturally “visionary” or naturally “operational” but you have to be both if you are to get it past the first stages with a bootstrapping budget, etc. Or, if you’d prefer, you need to find a partner who has the skill sets you need and then the trick is the work together to stay true to the vision you create.
I’ve always been the ‘Visionary’ entrepreneur and as much as I want to be the ‘Operational’ type, I’m just not…so it was a total miracle when I met Michelle McCullough last year and she was interested in coming on board to our company to run the operational aspects of our company and oversee events, etc. We’re an awesome partnership if I do say so myself! I really appreciate having her support and expertise.
