I promise it will make you rethink how you feel about social media.

In order to compete in the modern marketplace, every business and not-for-profit including traditional “brick and mortar” operations, sole proprietorships, and even mom-and-pop style organizations should have an Internet presence.  Ignoring the massive amounts of customers and patrons who surf the web every day and expecting to prosper in the next decade is akin to hiding under a tree in a thunderstorm: it sounds like a good idea until the lightning strikes.

Many small businesses fail to acknowledge, or refuse to admit, that traditional media outlets are struggling.  While television, and to some extent radio, are still fairly strong players in the local market, print media such as circulars and newspapers are hurting:  readership is declining, classified sections are shrinking, advertising costs are rising.  Nationally, many large newspapers are either in–or headed toward–bankruptcy while their smaller cousins are either switching formats (daily to weekly, etc.) or going out of business altogether.  Even those that are still operating have been forced to cut back services.  My local, the Ellsworth American, had to recently start charging subscription fees to its previously free online version because so many of its everyday patrons were opting to read it online rather than actually buying the paper.  Several national and international papers including the Times, the Sunday Times, the Sun and the News of the World are doing the same.

Why Should you Get Your Business Online?

Continuing to count on cheap paper advertising that actually reaches consumers just isn’t a viable option anymore. The Internet has taken advertising to the next level of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. So why (and how) should traditional businesses build an Internet presence?

1) Impression: by creating a website or joining any of the web 2.0 social media networks, businesses not only create an impression that they are forward-thinking and prepared to do business in the future but also appear responsive to their customer’s ever-changing needs. Simply put, by making it easier for consumers to find the products and services they need and want, businesses will become more valuable to those customers.

10 years ago would any of us have envisioned being able to order takeout online? Probably not but Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, and other fast food restaurants now offer that service to the modern consumer. In addition to take-out you can also order groceries flowers, and even fine wine online.

2) Engagement: every good salesman knows that the key to getting consumers to buy is getting them actively engaged (and keeping them that way) with a product or business. That’s why car dealerships send you birthday cards, Christmas cards, and thank you notes long after you’ve traded in the automobile you bought from them.

The Web offers even small companies that unique ability to engage customers in the dialogue like never before. By building an attractive, interactive site where potential customers and clients can hear what a business has to say, see photos of the products they are advertising or of the people selling them, or even watch video demonstrations of those products, business owners can create a relationship with consumers without ever having to meet them.

The interaction doesn’t have to stop there. Why not have an online forum where past customers can post reviews of products and services they purchased from you, or where potential customers can ask questions; ask for e-mail addresses and send out periodical notices or promotions; have online contests or post satisfied customers photos? The sky’s the limit.

Locally, one of the dealerships in my area gave away a car last year. All consumers had to do was post a photo of themselves kissing the car on the dealership’s website. Nationally, you can now follow JetBlue on twitter and find out if your flight is behind even before you get to the airport.

You don’t have to get a customer into your showroom before you introduce them to yourself and strike up a conversation anymore. Think of your website, your social media presence, or your web correspondence as the “back door” through which you should invite customers.

3) Incidental Revenue: while some businesses are better suited to earning incidental revenue from their web presence, any business can do it—if they know how. Services like Google’s Ad Sense, and affiliate programs such as the ones offered by Amazon and eBay allow you to make money without really having to do anything. By simply posting ads or affiliate links on your site or sending those links and ads out in messages or e-mails, you have the potential to earn money. While affiliate programs often require a consumer to actually purchase a product they come across by clicking on your links, Ad Sense allows you to earn income (though quite a small amount in the beginning) if your customers simply click on the ads.

The best part about the services I mentioned is that you can control everything about the ads from what they look like, to what products they display. For example, you could use an Amazon widget to advertise a product complementary to one you sell on your site (say HDMI cables for gaming systems, or a “For Dummies” guide about gardening if you sell plants or seeds.)

By giving consumers access to products that you can’t or don’t provide you will be adding value to their day and they will be more likely to remember your name in the future. However, be careful not to advertise products that compete with yours—don’t advertise Amazon books if your bookstore. Chances are you won’t be able to compete with the prices of an online mega-marketplace.

There are also link sharing services out there and people who will pay you to advertise their sites on yours. You can also swap banners so you can advertise on their sites as well.

Even if you decide it’s not for you, it’s in your best interest to learn about these forms of incidental income.

It’s Not As Bad As You Think

These are just a few of the benefits of catching up with the times, and giving your the business to boost it needs to compete in an increasingly digital marketplace. It may sound scary, a bit overwhelming, and frustratingly difficult, but getting online is easier now than ever before. For more on that read the second part of this article: Getting Your Brick and Mortar Business Online is Easier Than You Think

Feel free to drop by my website www.therealrobertpalmer.com to see how I can help you get started online.

While the software takes some time (a few hours) to train to properly recognize your voice, the process is so simple and intuitive you won’t even know you’re working. The software has you read a series of stories, articles, or manual excerpts and learns your voice as you speak–all you have to do is read aloud.

Get your copy of Dragon Naturally speaking today and be on the fast track to quality content creation.

Once the software is trained, you can use it to dictate in to any Microsoft product (Outlook, Word, etc.) And the best part is that the software never stops learning. Everytime you use the program, Dragon Naturally Speaking analyzes your speech patterns and adapts itself to more quickly understand what it is you are saying.

One of the coolest features is Dragon Naturally Speaking’s versatility. If you use a digital audio recorder a lot, I use an Olympus WS-110, you can pop the recorder into your USB port, upload the audio file to your hard drive, and Dragon Naturally Speaking will convert the audio on the file into text!

But Dragon Naturally Speaking doesn’t just limit you to dictation. Versions 9 and newer offer a wide range of spoken commands which you can use to control pretty much any aspect of your PC. You can open new windows, launch software programs, browse the web, and even play ping-pong using only voice contol!

Never before has affordable voice recognition software been so fast, so accurate, and so easy to use.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is so far advanced that sometimes its easy to forget your speaking to your desktop (or laptop) and not the computer on board the USS Enterprise.

Greensulate™ is what its inventors call “low-tech biotech.”  Created by allowing mycelia (the roots of mushrooms) to grow in agricultural material such as buckwheat and cottonseed hulls , the material can be formed into strong rigid board-style insulation that passes all ASTM tests for mold growth, water sorption, and vapor transmission.  The product is also completely safe for humans to handle install without the use of protective gear and clothing. 

While the material isn’t the first green alternative to petrochemical insulation, it’s one of the only board-type insulation alternatives available, making it extremely desirable for building contractors who cater to green home buyers. 

Because the material is literally grown and not manufactured, it can be customized in a matter of hours by substituting different component materials to provide unique strength characteristics.  The inventors had also wondered if the unique properties of the constituent materials would lead to any special properties and they were thrilled to learn that the finished material is flame resistant and earns a class 1 fire rating.

The same process used to create Greensulate™ is also used in the growing of mycelia-based packing materials trademarked under the name Ecocradle.  As an alternative to Styrofoam, the material performs extremely well and can be custom shaped by altering the container in which the material is grown.  Ecocradle material is completely biodegradable and some enterprising users even recycle the material as mulch for gardens.

In a relatively short amount of time, the company and its products have gained a tremendous amount of interest being featured in Popular Science, PopTech, and even appeared on an episode of CSI:  NY.

To learn more about Ecovative Designs or any of its revolutionary biotech products visit the company’s website at:  www.ecovativedesign.com/

The Habitat for Humanity has a long history of preserving building materials through well organized demolition and acceptance of donated goods.  Originally, this started as a way to save the organization as much money as possible.  By reusing materials they pull from one jobsite on another or taking materials local contractors or business owners no longer needed, the company was able to run a much tighter ship—very important indeed when your organization depends on monetary donations for financial support.

However, as an added “side effect,” the process of reusing those materials ahs helped to keep hundreds of thousands of tons of building materials out of landfills and eliminated the need for the manufacture of an equivalent number of new products–which is an extremely costly endeavor in environmental terms.

Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores are just a natural extension of that green behavior.  The retail stores, located in forty-eight states across the country including Hawaii, take donation of everything from building materials to fixtures and even appliances and sell those items at drastically reduced prices to the general public, building contractors, and even other retail outlets.  Not only does this process keep those materials from rotting away in landfills, it also generates a revenue stream for the volunteer organization. 

The company has also recently added ReStore items to its online store including recyclable pens constructed with cornstarch barrels, 100% corn plastic travel mugs, and a pen/pencil set made from recycled paper. 

This is just a small part of the organizations environmental initiative which includes affiliate training, Energy Star compliant building codes, and their Healthy Housing information program designed to help partner families “enjoy healthier, more energy-efficient and durable housing at the lowest possible cost.”

Often times when we think of green building practices and materials we rush to judgment and assume that those products and services will inherently cost more.  Habitat for Humanity has discovered a positive model for green building that actually saves money. 

For more on the Habitat for Humanity ReStore program or to find a ReStore near you, visit:  www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx

The answer is most definitely yes. Most squeeze pages suffer from poor design, poor layout, repetitive themes, and very few of them actually standout from the crowd. If you want to learn what you’re doing wrong, have a look at this.

http://hubpages.com/hub/SqueezePagesdontWork

You’ll learn:
1) The biggest mistakes you can make when creating your own squeeze page.
2) What to look for when your outsourcing agent gives you a page for approval.
3) How to stop turning away prospects with poor design, functionality, and hyperbole

Feel free to leave your comments and for more info on internet marketing, check out the widget below.