Creating Your Small Business Website: Part 1 Do You Need a Website?

The purpose of this four part blog series, "Creating Your Small Business Website," is to help new entrepreneurs as well as existing small business owners who do not currently have a website for their enterprise. The first order of business is figuring out if you need a website. The answer, in almost all cases, is yes and here's why.

• A website offers an alternative way for existing customers and prospects to contact you. Almost all individuals and business customers today expect small businesses to have this option. Even if they eventually want to visit your shop or your business office, they like to be able to do their initial browsing at their own convenience from their computer. If you don't offer this option, you could be immediately dismissed in favor of a competitor who does have a website.
• It's an easy and cost effective way to display and manage your inventory. Especially if you have a home-based business, a website offers a great virtual storefront that allows you to maintain your privacy while still allowing your customers to view your merchandise.
• You can sell more products because you have an unlimited amount of virtual display space whereas your physical space may be limited.
• A website has no geographic boundaries. You can go from selling strictly in your local market to literally selling worldwide within a matter of weeks.

The next order of business is matching the right style and tone of your website to your business' image and goals. This will be covered in Part 2 so stay tuned...

Don't be Afraid to Wield the Power of a Press Release for Your Small Business

In today's economic climate, every marketing dollar must count. Press releases offer an ideal solution for promoting your business while keeping expenses down. For The WordSlingers' July communications' article, Charlotte freelance business writer Mary Crotty outlines a small business guide to crafting and distributing press releases. In "Don't Be Afraid to Wield the Power of a Press Release for Your Small Business," you'll find 5 solid motivators for cashing in on this affordable publicity tool as well as step-by-step instructions for actually writing a press release for your business.

The WordSlingers publish articles on a monthly basis on everything related to business communications. If you'd like to sign up to automatically receive our articles or to suggest an article topic that you need more information about, email Mary.Crotty@thewordslingers.com.

In Memory of a Beloved

The blogwaves of The WordSlingers have been silent for the last few days due to the tremendous loss of a person very dear to us. Out of the silence, I wanted to pay some tribute to this beautiful person who brightened the lives of all who knew him and as a way to let his family know that he was and is still loved, as are they. Unfortunately for once this wordslinger is at a loss for words. The words of W.H. Auden much better express the sadness and grief that accompany us today.

In memory of a beloved....

Funeral Blues
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

W.H. Auden

The sadness we feel today makes it feel that nothing ever can come to any good now but I know that love does last forever and I hope that in time, with the memory of this beloved person, good will return and happiness will be possible.

Savvy Sales Letters That Sell Your Stuff

Savvy Sales Letters That Sell Your Stuff

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FTC Regulation of Blogs Shouldn't Deter Small Businesses from Blogging

News this week that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is set to begin regulating the blogosphere within the next few months may have concerned a small business blogger or two. As a regular blogger for The WordSlingers, when I first saw the headline, it immediately grabbed my attention and made me wonder if I had anything to worry about.


In our modern world, technology moves faster than our ability to create the standards or ethics that guide our use of the things it creates. For instance with blogs, anyone can write about anything. Businesses quickly learned that a way to influence buyers was to allow people outside the business to write about their product or service through blogs. The issue for the FTC appears to be whether that "independent" person is actually independent. Are they being paid in dollars or in prizes to write positive reviews? Is the blog reviewer extended an authentic experience that any other ordinary consumer would or is their experience rigged to generate a positive review?

I'm sure there will be much more to learn about the proposed FTC regulation as the summer rolls on. For now, it appears that the FTC's end goal is to rein in false claims or unfair sales and marketing practices on blogs. For consumers, that's probably a good thing. For small business owners using a blog to help gain recognition and market share, the impact is yet to be fully seen.

In the meantime, applying a high standard of ethics to all of your business communications, blogs included, is always a wise way to operate. In brief, keep your communications:

• Credible - write about what you know. Discuss topics that you have some level of expertise in and back that up with your credentials where appropriate.


• Truthful - "What a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive." Honesty is always the best policy both for avoiding trouble and for building trust with your clients.


• Transparent - if you have a relationship with a company you are writing about, make it abundantly clear to avoid misleading your readers.

Whether regulated by the FTC or not, blogs will still be a great communication tool for letting your customers get to know you, showcasing your expertise and spreading the word about your business. Don't let regulation deter you from blogging, just keep abreast of the latest developments at www.ftc.gov and use common sense in devising your communication strategy.

How Can Small Business Compete in the Race for Social Media Supremacy?

And is that even a valid question? I pose it because there has been a recent rash of news from large corporations concerning their social media strategies. For example on May 28th, the Charlotte Observer reported that Duke Energy named Michelle Pearson as their social media director. I even found a blog that dedicates itself to recognizing people being named into such roles all over the corporate world like companies such as Microsoft.

This rising trend is evidence that social media as part of a business' overall communication and marketing strategy has hit the mainstream. So do small businesses need to adopt this same strategy to compete? And if so, how do they do it when many small business owners wear the hat of CEO, CFO, marketing director, HR director, sales and service and much more all in one.

The answer to the first question is yes it is worthwhile to include some aspect of social media into your communication and marketing plan. The key word is "some" and by it I mean what works for you - both in terms of what you are able to realistically do and what actually connects with the people that are worthwhile for your business. Both fortunately and unfortunately, there are new social media sites cropping up all the time. They are geared to specific genders, sizes, and industries. So most likely there is a site that will work for your small business. The hard part is figuring out which one and the trap you want to avoid is feeling like you have to join every single site to keep from getting left behind.

The answer to the second questions is if you haven't entered the world of social media yet or you've dabbled but not quite figured out the best approach, here's a plan that helps small business owners get started without getting sucked into an ineffective one size fits all approach.

1. Make a plan: Actually sit down and review your current communication and marketing plan and think through how social media can enhance it. First ask yourself if your customers are likely to use social media. If the answer is no, then your social media plan should be minimal. If the answer is the majority, then you need to seriously consider how to incorporate this into your strategy. Finally, set goals on what percentage of your marketing budget (include your time here because most sites are free but your time is not) should be spent making connections.
2. Select the Social Media Sites Appropriate for Your Business: Rather than joining every site that comes on your radar, set aside some time to actually research and analyze the 2-3 sites that will bring you the most bang for your buck (or really your time because that's what will be expended). Research the internet, ask colleagues, read your local paper and industry publications. And finally, check the websites of your competitors - if they are using linkedin, twitter or facebook, they will usually have links to their profiles on their business sites.
3. Create One Strong Company Profile: Once you've picked the sites you want to join, review the company profile template of those sites. Most are quite similar so you can save yourself some time by crafting a strong universal company profile that can be used on all of the sites your join. Then if there is specific information required for individual sites, you can focus on that to further showcase your business and your passion.
4. Make wise use of your blogs: If you already have a business blog and find it hard enough to write entries for it, adding conversations on social media sites to your to do list can seem nearly impossible. If you write it, you own it so make double use of the information you share on your business blog to start or join in on a conversation on social media sites.

One last thought. The key to social media is creating a continual stream of dialogue. The difference between an effective and ineffective social media strategy is whether you consider it a hassle to keep up with or you've created an easy habit that you enjoy doing. If it's a hassle, you will resist doing it and it will never take off. If you've crafted a doable strategy that you can successfully make a habit, your social media strategy will pay off.

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There's No Place for Guilt in my Small Business Agenda

It has been a very busy week. My oldest son graduated from elementary school and that entailed an entire day of activities and work wise I've had several projects due for one of my best clients. I relished every moment of the graduation and I delivered first quality content to my client within our agreed upon deadline. So what is there to complain about. All of that didn't leave time for much else which made me feel very slack in terms of The WordSlingers blog and my other customer connections that I like to make on a weekly basis.

Guilt is what I'm feeling. Guilt that I took a day off to watch a milestone in my child's life. Guilt that I placed a priority on paying work over connecting with others who represent future work. Guilt - it's a dirty word. It's also a trap that many small business owners fall into. Why? Because we wear many different hats and we only have so many hours in the day. Something usually gets sacrificed in the process.

I plan to rid myself of this guilt and here's why I encourage you to do the same. Five years from now, no matter what I am doing professionally, I won't remember the work that I did this week or this blog post for that matter. What I will remember is the look on my son's face when he proudly waved his certificate in the air. The inspirational messages that were the final goodbye of his teachers. The way I choked up hardly able to believe that 11 years has gone by so quickly. Part of the reason I became a freelancer was to be able to find and maintain a healthy work/life balance. So there's no need to feel guilty that I achieved that goal this week. In fact, that is reason to celebrate.

As for focusing on the paying work, well I doubt anybody will fault me for that and in fact would consider me an idiot if I didn't. All small business owners have to satisfy the customer at hand or else we don't survive. However, I think the risk is that the longer you stay away from your customer contacts and communications because of more pressing things, the easier it is to forget about them or abandon them altogether. And that can be deadly because once that paying work is complete, you need to having something waiting and if you aren't making those regular contacts with clients and prospects then there won't be anything there.

The bottom line is it's all a balancing act and guilt has no place in the mix. If one week you don't get a chance to make customer connections then make it a priority the next week. Guilt only slows us down, clogs up our common sense and drains our motivation. So there's no point feeling guilty over a missed blog or weekly email skipped, as long as you recommit to that communication in the near future.

I, of all people, know the importance of customer communication. I preach it every day. But I also know that it's important to give ourselves a break now and then too.