A few topics we discuss around here have formed the basis of my proposals for panels at SXSW Interactive 2010. I think you’ll recognize them. These proposals are now up for voting through Friday, September 4, 2009. If you like them, consider leaving a comment or voting thumbs up on them. Why SXSW Interactive?Because I’ve…
(Mark Hayward is back with another guest post on marketing for small business, drawn from his own experience. You can follow him on Twitter @mark_hayward) If you are like me, when you purchased or opened your business, you really did not have a clue about how to market yourself online. Perhaps, you still don’t. Certainly,…
The standard tourism brochure rack: crowded and boring. But you still have to compete here. If we could make tourism maps more interactive, maybe we can do the same with standard brochures. We all try to do this: Put a website address or email address on every single brochure. But I’ve added a new goal:…
Trust is a big part of small business, maybe even more so in a small town. Part of your role as a small business person is to be the trusted source, whether you are the source of a product, a service, or information. But have you given any thought to it? How do you improve…
Attention, Okies! Share your favorite family travel places in Oklahoma. Sheila Scarborough is writing a series on the 50 states, collecting ideas via Twitter and Facebook, and it’s Oklahoma’s turn. (See the example on kid-friendly Pennsylvania travel.) I like her idea of using social networks to spread the ideas around. We’re going to inundate her…
It’s Friday, and that means the Brag Basket is open for the weekend. This is where you can share your projects and accomplishments. You can also cheer for other people, give shout outs, congratulate, and even give someone a well-deserved pat on the back. Lately, lots of folks have bragged on their small town. The…
Ah, another PR pitch email, full of jargon and buzzwords and meaningless phrases. Could you tell me a story of someone who is using your product? Then I might get it. Another speech, centered in the speaker’s own world. How about a concrete example? If you want to reach people…if you want to connect…if you…
Our friend Shashi Bellamkonda is back with another guest post of small business stories. In 1998 I worked behind a counter at a popular restaurant where take out was busy in the evenings. Now in those days the process was: Call the restaurant and ask for a menu to be faxed to you I would…
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