I knew that title will intrigue you, please feel free to comment.

These days we all rarely receive anything other than bills and junk mail in our mail boxes, so if you take the time to send a real greeting card to your clients, business partners and suppliers, you will stand out from the crowd.

Actually, it’s more like, you’ll be the only one there, no crowd :-)

I personally use an online service called SendOutCards, which gives me the flexibility of creating a single greeting card and then selecting a group of people to receive it. Groups such as: clients, suppliers, friends, family, etc.

SendOutCards prints, addresses, personalizes and sends real postcards, greeting cards, gifts, etc. through the postal system. This is not an e-card service.

SOC also allows me to enclose a gift with my greeting card, such as Starbucks or Tim Hortons gift cards, books, cookies, etc.

I also had them digitize my own handwriting and signatures into a font, so my cards look like they were handwritten. How cool is that!

The system is getting better and better. Now they also offer printing of calendars, posters, even business cards.

Are you using Linkedin’s relatively new feature called “Companies”?

You should create a Linkedin company page, even if you don’t have an incorporated business.

One of the advantages of having a company page on Linkedin is that you can create a services/products page, such as this one.

Once you’ve created a product page, you should invite your clients and contact on Linkedin to recommend your product or service.

This kind of recommendation is somewhat easier to get since all it takes is two clicks of a mouse, and writing a comment is optional, so your clients and contacts don’t have to spend time writing an endorsement.

Having a Linkedin company page also works well if you’re trying to separate your business from your own personal profile, and for building a brand.

To learn more about effective use of Linkedin for business, check out my Linkedin to the Max seminar. On this page you’ll also see how I use Linkedin’s feature to show how many recommendations my service page has received.

Linkedin, the free online business networking site used by more than 100 million users world wide, is becoming the place to be if you’re looking to grow your business with social media. Chances are you already have an account, but you may not know how to use Linkedin to generate leads and grow your business.

I’ve been using Linkedin for over 3 years now, and have figured out an easy and effective way to use it to generate about 20% of new business by investing just 10 minutes a day.

Since September 2010 I’ve been hosting a series of hands-on seminars on how to use Linkedin for business, which I call taking Linkedin to the Max! The next session is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 6, 10am-12:30pm. Start the “new business year” the right way and invest in the marketing of your business.

In 2-1/2 hours I will share with you the tips and tricks on how you, too, can use this free online resource to grow your business. Many business owners, just like you, have attended one of the 10 previous sessions of this workshop and recommend it to their connections on Linkedin. Check out their recommendations here.

Many more testimonials can be found on my blog.

It’s a small investment on your part and it’s going to work for you or you get your tuition back, no fuss. (I have yet to receive a refund request…)

Register on line or if you prefer to pay by cheque call 905-844-4247 or toll-free 1-877-ibiz-269 to reserve your seat (reg. bus. hours please)

I hope you can make it,

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.
e-Marketing Coach, Web Developer and Speaker

P.S.
Free bonus educational audio CD is included with your ticket.

You may have heard me speak or write about how email advertising still reigns in terms of return on investment (ROI), and you wanted to try making some money from your list of contacts. Please, don’t make the error of using your PC to send your email marketing messages! Same goes for using any web mail service, such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or MSN.

PC programs such as Outlook, Eudora, Apple Mail or online email services may be free to use, but they were not designed to send bulk email messages such as newsletters and e-flyers.

Most Internet Service Providers (ISP), and most online email services limit the number of recipients that you can use in any single email message. This means that, depending on the size of your list, it may take you several sends to complete the “blast”.

If you’re using your own email program to send your e-newsletter you don’t, for the most part, have no idea what happens to your beautiful creation once it leaves your computer. You don’t really know if your audience receives your messages, if they open them, if they click on any links that are included in the content, etc.

If you work in Canada, the US, or any country that has a modern “anti-spam” law, the easiest way to play by the rules of opt in email marketing is to use an Email Service Provider (ESP). All these companies do all day is send permission based email marketing messages on behalf of their clients.

I highly recommend one such service: MadMimi. You can even use their service for free for as long as you have fewer than 100 email contacts. MadMimi’s email marketing software is an online service you pay for monthly based on the size of your list. For example, if you have 1,000 contacts your monthly cost will be only US$10. Their pricing is typically 20%-50% lower than their competition (such as iContact, Aweber, or GetResponse). Admittedly, these other services offer more features, but have a higher learning curve, or cost more, or both.

I’ve used about a dozen or so ESPs over the years, but have been recommending MadMimi for their superior customer service and extreme ease of use. If you’re able to use a computer so send regular emails, you’ll be up and running with MadMimi in minutes.

To learn more about email marketing best practises visit my Email Marketing Blog.

When publishing articles on your business blog (or any web site) your task doesn’t end with writing your blog post, you should also concentrate on optimizing it for search engines.

Actually, to get the benefit of search engine traffic, even before starting a blog post, do some keyword research. First, compile a list of keywords (and, more importantly, keyword phrases) you think your business should rank for. Then, use the free Google Keyword tool and type in those phrases to find out how many actual searches are done per month. You would be surprised how different Google’s list may turn out from your own. Use the list Google suggest as your starting point.

You want to find keyword phrases with low competition and high search volume.

If your site or blog is promoting a business with a local focus, such as a beauty salon, or carpet cleaning, pay attention to the local search volume, rather than global.

Then, when you’ve decided on the overall keyword phrases for your site (or home page), use the same Google Keyword tool to generate ideas for sub page titles, post headlines and subheads.

Specifically, pay attention to and hand craft the following three meta tags:

• Meta title: This may be different, or a variation of the post title, and ideally not longer than 60-70 characters. If your post title is longer than 70 characters, made sure you condense it to less than that for the title meta tag.
• Meta description: If you’re using an SEO plugin for your WordPress-based blog, it will most likely be able to generate a description tag for you, but I advise against it. Instead, you should write your own description, ideally not more than 150 characters long, and making sure you use at least one keyword phrase as suggested by the Google Keyword tool. If you can also include a call to action, such as “Visit my site for more,” that would be great. Think of the description as the summary of your blog post, or page.
• 1-5 meta keyword phrases: As per this video, Google ignores meta keywords, but some search engines still read them, so it won’t hurt to add them. Add only those keywords that are actually used on the page. Resist the temptation of “keyword stuffing” as some search engines may punish your page for it.

My clients get the benefit of one-on-one instruction in the art of Search Engine Optimization. If your web site is not producing results for you, please book a complimentary meeting or toll-free call so we can find out if I would be a good fit to help you get more out of your online presence. If you’re on a limited budget, you can learn from my live workshops or self-study courses.