SmallBusinessNewz

Online Advertising Will Thrive in Weak Economic Times

If you've been reading SmallBusinessNewz for a while, you may recall an article I wrote earlier this year about branding a need. The basic point of this was that one effective advertising strategy is to make potential customers realize that they have a need, and that your product is the solution to that need.

Social Media Marketing and Blogging Advice from BlogWorld

Reporters for our sister site WebProNews spent the weekend in Las Vegas, attending the BlogWorld Expo, as I mentioned here. While the video interviews are still to come on the WebProNews Video Blog, I have been writing up my fair share of posts from notes that our reporter Abby sent in.

Your Web Site Problems Can Really Cost You!

Customer Experience Management (CEM) software company Tealeaf recently conducted a survey regarding online customer experiences. The biggest stat to come from this survey is: 41% of online adults click away when they encounter a problem. Many of them go to a competitor. Tealeaf estimates that this represents a $57 billion potential impact to revenue on shopping sites.

Target Case Sparks Site Accessibility Controversy

Those of you selling online may want to start paying closer attention to the accessibility of your site if you are not already doing so. Last week, Target settled a lawsuit with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), paying out upwards of $5 million because their site was not deemed accessible enough.

Want to Boost Your Readership?

Article marketing can be one of the most effective forms of Internet marketing, whether you write for established publications, have your articles syndicated across content networks, or simply maintain your own blog. The strategy is worthless however, if you can't keep the readers' attention. On the Internet, attention spans are shorter than anywhere due to the sheer amount of options for obtaining information. Tips for Capturing Reader Interest

Don't Look Past Your Local Internet Audience

When it comes to Internet marketing for small businesses, it can be easy to get caught up in the enormous number of tactics and resources available online. You might even forget about the good-old fashioned local media that has been working for businesses for ages.

Where Does Security Fall Into Your Budget?

As I talked about last week, security is one very important factor in gaining customer trust, particularly online. So where does that fall in your budget?

7 Steps to Earning Customer Trust Online

Keeping in theme with my recent article about ingredients to surviving in online business, let's talk about earning customer trust. A recent survey found that 81% of consumers don't trust small online businesses.

Washington Tax Laws Affect Small Businesses

The growth of Internet sales is causing some interesting tax issues for small business owners and casual sellers. My bookkeeper has spent hours on the phone with the IRS trying to figure the best way to handle the new Washington State tax regulations that went into effect July 1, 2008. You see, the system for local retail sales tax in the State of Washington has gone from an origin-based system to a destination-based system. Basically, how you tax goods now depends on where the product is shipped to, not on where the product comes from.

5 Key Ingredients to Surviving in Online Business

This is a basic list of key things that are critical to having a successful online business. This article is more for the person who is new to online business rather than the seasoned professional. 1. Design I really can't stress enough how important a professional-looking design is for attracting sales. Quite frankly, many people will just not trust a site that is poorly designed.