Quick Website Promotion Ideas

A client of mine just asked how to go about promoting a business website. I fired off a few ideas, then thought that the same advice would be helpful for a larger audience. Here ya’ go! Start a mailing list. Gather customers’ email addresses (with permission), then send them periodic newsletters about product specials, advice…

Graphics Programs on the Cheap, Part III: Heavyweights

You’ve tried the rest, but they just don’t satisfy. You want a nice downloadable or Web-based graphics program that won’t cost an arm or a leg. Where do you turn? Try these on for size: Picnik – This is a fun-looking Web-based graphics manipulator that includes both free and paid versions. Pros: Picnik has all…

Graphics Programs on the Cheap, Part II: Basic Editors

So you’ve stepped up from the single-task graphics apps and you want something a wee bit robust. Where do you go if you’re not flush with cash? Here are a few options: Microsoft Paint – Ah, good old Paint. No, I’m not saying you should all your entire graphics design work on this little program,…

Your Web Department Is Not Optional

Your business paid a consultant to build your website, or a propeller-head whipped up one in-house. It’s live, ready for throngs of traffic, so your site is able to be left alone now, right? Wrong. The company’s Web Department might not be very big. It may only be one person, or it may be outsourced.…

Businesses Embrace(?) Social Media

Excerpt from Businesses to learn about social media Burlington Free Press; May 25, 2009 As social media forums evolve, they are quickly becoming an essential tool for business. But, social media gurus say, businesses need to learn to give up control over their message and participate in a dialogue with the public and online “influencers.”…

Tech-Savvy Reverse Mentors

Young adults these days seem like they were born with an iPhone in one hand and a Web-surfing laptop in the other, constantly Facebooking and texting. Just idle time-wasters, or tech-savvy business resources? The Harvard Business blog’s post, Let Gen Y Teach You Tech, stands solidly on the latter side: Once derided as sandboxes for…

What’s Your Social Media Strategy?

Excerpt from Should my company use Facebook, Twitter and social media? By Chip Hanna, Ft. Worth Business Press, May 25, 2009 It does your company no good to dive into social media without a solid strategy, with goals, guidelines and tactics. What is your ultimate goal? How are you going to achieve it? Who is…