Business Mums Network are currently running a survey all about businesses and their Christmas promotions, and they would love your input.
It will only take 2 minutes and the questions may even give you some ideas for your own promotions.
Please head over to the survey and share your experience… and on behalf of Melissa at Business Mums, thank you.
Here’s to your success in business,
Donna-Marie
On Jenni’s Papercraft Designs blog today she shared with us info on a great site for those who enjoy craft activities – Living Creatively.
This is a fantastic site for those who enjoy craft (I enjoy thinking about it, but whatever I make never ends up looking as good as it did in my head! I think I’ll stick to writing).
What particularly caught my attention about this site is their innovative way of encouraging other sites to link to them. In addition to some great competitions, anyone who links to them goes into a draw to win an advertising package worth $5,000AUD! How good is that?
If you’re into craft, that’s got to be worth checking out. For everyone else, could you use a competition to encourage visitors or links to your site?
Here’s to your success in business,
Donna-Marie
I just received 13 emails from an associate… all in a row… one after another. And I was so grateful she sent each one separately!
Some people may prefer to get one email with all the information, but these 13 emails, while on the same project, were each on a different section. When you have so much information like this, it’s actually easier to receive – and store – the different sections in different emails, rather than trying to search one endless email for that little snippet of information you may want at any time.
Tash at Word Constructions mentions this on one of her posts – email subjects – that’s worth reading. Plus, she shares several other great tips for constructing a good subject heading to help get your emails read.
Here’s to your success in business…
Donna-Marie
Annette Piper has a post on her blog where she talks about planning to attend the upcoming Ironfest which got me thinking about expos.
Displays at expos and trade shows can be a great way to promote your business, products or services and to meet new customers and potential customers. They can also be a good way of meeting fellow industry professionals.
Many of these expos don’t come cheap so if you’re going to pay to be involved, you want to make sure you get the most for your dollar.
Before you start packing your display products, first decide what you want to achieve from the event. Do you want to sell lots of products? Maybe your aim is to gather contact details for leads… possible customers. Or do you want to educate the public about your products or industry? Knowing this will help you plan your display.
Here are a few tips for next time you have a display:
Here’s to your success in business…
Donna-Marie
“Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more.”
A. Lou Vickery, Writer
I like that advice. When you think you’ve finished your work for today, or your training or learning or whatever… what is that little bit more that you can do to help you to rise above the crowd?
Here’s to your success in business…
Donna-Marie
Are you eligible for Government funding? How can you export your products to Asia?
Join us at the May Business Growth Session in Brisbane, Australia, for all the answers.
Terrena Burrows, Principal Regional Development Officer at the Northside Centre, Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry, will talk about the various resources available to assist small businesses – including general advice, funding, exporting and where to go for guidance. You might be surprised at some of the resources that are waiting for you!
Click here for full details. If you come along, make sure you say hello to me.
Here’s to your success in business…
Donna-Marie
For anyone whose business caters to Mother’s Day, I’m sure you are all set for this special day by now, having planned your promotions and special offers some time ago.
Did you ever wonder when the concept of Mother’s Day began? Apparently this day originates from Britain during the 17th Century. It was a day when servants and apprentices were allowed to travel home to see their mothers, usually taking a gift with them. The day became known as Mothering Day. If you would like to know more, read all about The Meaning of Mother’s Day at My New Shiny Shoes – it gives you all the facts and makes for an interesting read.
Here’s to your success in business…
Donna-Marie
On Melissa Khalinsky’s blog she includes a post about Links to Your Site, talking about five ways of attracting traffic to your site. I love a comment she includes in her first tip:
“…there are many sites who are happy to do a link exchange. Before requesting an exchange, look at the site closely to see if they do exchange links.”
Great tip Melissa. I would like to add to that by encouraging people to request to link only with RELEVANT sites. I have received so many requests from people to be linked to my site, either a reciprocal link or one-way. Unfortunately, most of these requests come from businesses that have absolutely no relevance to my sites – totally different products/services, totally different markets.
Link away… just keep it relevant and appropriate.
Here’s to your success in business…
Diva Promotions have just launched their Essential Business Guide, full of practical tips and information for running a successful business.
To get your hands on this, you can download it now for free from one of my sites – Jacaranda Business Support Services. It’s on the left hand side, under the heading Who wants some free stuff?
It contains great articles from various authors on a wide range of topics about running a business, including one by Yours Truly, explaining the basic differences between PR, Advertising and Marketing… and which is best for you.
Here’s to your success in business…
Think you’re having a bad day at the office?
Have a look at this quick little clip over at The Tall Poppy. Short, sweet and good for a giggle.
I hope you have a great day today 🙂
Here’s to your success in business…
I received a wonderful phone call from one of my clients yesterday. I recently wrote a media release for her and she was ringing to tell me that shortly after sending it out, she received a phone call from one of the major, prime-time TV shows to say that they would like to interview her live next Tuesday.
How exciting for her!
I quickly sent her a few tips to help her prepare but I would love to hear more. I know there are a lot of experienced business people who read this blog… have you ever been interviewed live on prime-time TV? Can you offer any real life tips and suggestions, particularly ways to appear confident – including how to remember your name and what your business does – when you have 1,000,001 butterflies doing a jig in your stomach?
I’d love to hear your ideas.
Here’s to your success in business…
“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.”
William Feather 1889-1981, Writer
Sometimes our lives get so busy, often working more to earn more money to spend on things to make us happy. Yet we are so busy, we don’t actually stop and enjoy being happy.
Remember… happiness is a state of mind, not a place of being.
I’m very grateful that I love my work. I enjoy (almost!) every moment of it, so it doesn’t feel like work or like a chore. While this is good, it’s also very easy to get caught up working long hours, including working through my weekends. Now and then I stop myself and ask why I’m doing this in the first place. I think it’s okay to work long hours if I’m happy doing that, so long as other areas of my life aren’t missing out.
Today, make sure you take some time to stop and smell the flowers, so to speak… stop and enjoy your happiness.
Here’s to your success in business…
Small Business Diva 