Resources

A bunch of online small business marketing resources that can speed you to success-

“My Recommended Online Small Business Marketing Tools”

Here are some of my favorite website copywriting and marketing resources to help you with your online success:

Audio Acrobat

I love this simple-to-use system for creating and adding audio and video to your website. I use it all the time for teleseminars, audio clips, testimonials, etc.

1ShoppingCart

(On the home page, click the “e-commerce” button, then from “our solutions” located at the top of the page, click on “e-commerce”)

An all-in-one system that includes database collection, autoresponders, newsletter broadcasting, and shopping cart for selling products. I’ll be honest and say I’m not totally enamored with them, but they seem to be the biggest game in town if you want an all-inclusive system. The alternative is maintaining separate databases for your buyers and newsletter subscribers – and that’s a pain.

Be aware that a merchant account for accepting credit cards is a separate thing.

[Just recently I had www.wahmcart.com suggested to me as an alternative. I haven’t tried it so I can’t recommend them, but if you have experience with them, I’d be very interested in your thoughts.]

Vista Print

Budget priced online printing services for everything from brochures to postcards to rubber stamps. I’ve gotten all my business cards and stationery printed through them.

Make MySpace Your Space

A fabulously thorough ebook by Visibility expert Nancy Marmolejo. From newbies to experienced internet marketers, Nancy’s “tutorial guide” has helped hundreds and hundreds of people set up and launch effective MySpace pages.

How to Repurpose Your Work - Do It Once and Get Paid Again and Again– (you’ll find the program on her Resources page)

Sandy Martini, the Automatic Business Coach, has put together a really useful (and delightfully detailed!) program on how to get the most value out of everything you do so you can get more publicity, drive traffic to your site, get recognized as an expert, put your marketing on autopilot, and make more money. Who can say no to that?

Boost Business With Your Own Ezine

I used this guide when I was setting up my first ezine and it proved extremely helpful. It’s a very complete 275 pages and the bonuses that come with it are quite valuable in their own right. Ali’s approach is a bit too “in your face” for me, but she has some useful experience and information to share.

Michael Katz’s Do-It-Yourself E-Newsletter System

This covers the same topic as Ali Brown’s product but I have to say I love Michael’s style! He has a fresh, witty and very authentic way of showing how to use an ezine (or e-newsletter as he calls it) to build and maintain connection with prospects and clients – without hype. A very useful resource to have.

SurveyMonkey

A simple way to collect information from clients (always a great marketing strategy). You can develop easy-to-use surveys and questionnaires; the system will collate and analyze the responses.
 

Good Books

Attracting Perfect Customers, Hall & Brogniez
A definite “must read” for anyone who is marketing-shy. Their basic premise is that marketing doesn’t have to be competitive; we each have people who are our perfect clients. The secret is to identify and focus on them in ways that work for you.

 Get Clients Now, CJ Hayden
A practical, step-by-step system for doing what it takes to build your client-base. A nice companion to the above title.

 The E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber
There’s good reason this book is so widely touted. He’s got some really useful ideas, particularly for those of us not blessed with a truckload of business acumen.

 
Good to Great, Jim Collins
A terrific analysis of what differentiates a “good” company from a truly “great” one. Though the study was based on large companies and corporations, the principles hold true all the way down the line to small businesses like ours. I found this very valuable.

 Smart Women Finish Rich, David Bach
I really liked this book. I’ve found other money management/wealth-building books to be too dense and daunting. But this one is very readable and has easy to apply strategies. His main thesis is that making money is no use unless you’re managing it well. (Seems obvious, but apparently most Americans don’t follow this line of thought.)

And Guys, don’t let the title stop you. It’s useful information for anyone.

Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting, Lynn Grabhorn
An introduction to the Law of Attraction – may be too “woo woo” for some, but I enjoyed it. There’s a playbook (as opposed to “workbook”) available to help you do more than just think about it all.

 
The Holy Man, Susan Trott
A modern-day allegory about wisdom and happiness – very sweet, light and profound and the sequel, if you want more

 
NLP: The New Technology of Achievement, Andreas & Faulkner
A good introduction to Neuro-Linguistic Programming. It offers explanation as well as specific techniques. Though a book can’t replace face-to-face instruction in this particular field, this is a great place to begin exploring.

Online small business marketing in alignment with your values

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