Business Networking

NOMINATE SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS WOMEN

Sun, 24 May 2009 14:36 GMT

RBC's Annual Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Awards is accepting nominations till June 29. I was nominated for 2003 and it was a tremendous honour to have a client think that highly about me and the work we do at unleash pr. So who do you know who is extraordinary -- a co-worker, business associate, friend, family member, client, supplier? Download a nomination form by clicking here completed.

ARTICLE OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSINESS WOMEN

Sun, 24 May 2009 14:27 GMT

WOMEN CAN DO ANYTHING accepts articles on the following topics: building wealth, health & wellness, internet marketing, and other business related topics. Send articles ideas and a writing sample to Tracy Matthewman Visit the WCDA website for writer's guidelines.

While you're there, list your business for free in THE DIRECTORY. The site ranks high in Google and receives hundreds of visitors each day.

Sun, 24 May 2009 14:20 GMT

WINGS and HEROS has launched a new website - www.wingsandheros.com

The new site features a Forum, Marketplace, Profiles of Members, a Calendar of upcoming events. The next WINGS and HEROS meeting is Thursday, May 28, 2009 At 8:00 AM
in Thornhill. Contact Info: RSVP with Sharon 647-298-0112.

Sat, 09 May 2009 07:51 GMT

MAVEN BUSINESS NETWORK -- TORONTO is looking for experts... This is a new business networking group in Toronto. If you are an expert in your field and want to share your knowledge with others this group is accepting applications. You will meet with other experts in a non-competitive forum setting where you exchange knowledge. Full details are available at: http://www.womenspost.ca/mbn

PROSPECTING vs MARKETING DURING RECESSION

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:01 GMT

For the month of November 2008, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that the number one concern of small business owners is sales or lack of. Twenty-five percent of small business owners polled said poor sales was their main concern. This a 22-year high and is caused not by fear but by results.

Here are some suggestions on how to maintain and increase sales:

Prospect: Increase activities like business networking that get you in direct contact with your prospects. If you make any cuts to marketing dollars do so with marketing that attracts new buyers. Increase time and money for prospecting, though, which gets you face-to-face with people and turns them into business fast.
Increase market share: During a recession, many of your competitors fit into the 25 percent of small business owners who are concerned about sales. Many react by cutting back on prospecting and marketing activities. Knowing this you can capture market share from those willing to reconsider their current supplier.
Look for NOW sales: Flag people who may need your services sometime in the future. But spend your NOW time and money attracting and qualifying near-term buyers. Research how your prospects' needs may have shifted in the down market, and adjust your marketing messages to attract those who need you NOW.

HOW YOUR BUSINESS NETWORK CAN BE YOUR SOURCE OF HAPPINESS

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:41 GMT

Did you know that happiness is contagious? A recent study found when you surround yourself with happy people your happiness increases.

From 1983 to 2003, scientists from UC San Diego and Harvard University studied 4,739 people to identify happiness clusters within social groups. They found happiness flows through social networks up to three degrees of separation. Interesting, unhappiness does not spread through social networks to the same extent.

The researchers found distance and time influences happiness. When you becomes happy, a friend living within one mile has a 25 percent increased chance of becoming happy, your spouse an 8 percent increased chance, and a next door neighbor, 34 percent.

"But the real surprise came with indirect relationships. Again, while an individual becoming happy increases his friend’s chances, a friend of that friend experiences a nearly 10 percent chance of increased happiness, and a friend of *that* friend has a 5.6 percent increased chance—a three-degree cascade."

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Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:30 GMT

On Tues, Feb 3 it was International Networking Day 2009 - Toronto. And more than 250 small business owners and professionals gathered at Seneca Conference Centre for a day filled with learning, connections, and word-of-mouth referrals. You can view the expert speakers and more by CLICKING HERE

How to e-Mail Market

Mon, 21 May 2007 14:35 GMT

The e-Mail Marketing Campaign

You’ve got a list. You’ve written some great content. It’s designed and published. Before you click the send button, use this checklist to ensure you’re on target.

Are the sources of all e-mail addresses in your contact list apparent?
If you don't know where the contact information came from, how can you be sure that you have permission to market to the e-mail address? If your e-mail is reported as spam, you need to be able to defend yourself against accusations from federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

Does your list contain many duplicated e-mail addresses?
If so, you may be sending multiple messages to the same people, and destroying the trust and good will that e-mail marketing works so hard to build.

Are your messages CAN-SPAM and PIPEDA compliant?
If you are sending messages to US contacts, those messages must comply with the governing US legislation (CAN-SPAM). In Canada, your messages must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). If you fail to do so, you risk the wrath of both federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

Do your messages look like advertising?
Traditional, one-to-may advertising is inappropriate in the one-to-one medium of e-Mail Marketing. e-Mail Marketing's purpose is to build on the initial relationship created when your prospects give you permission to market to them. Your e-mail messages should acknowledge this relationship and seek to build on it with each new communication.
Because people use the Internet to search out information actively, they tend to ignore what they perceive to be Marketing hype. Your e-mail messages should provide the information and references they are looking for, rather than pure advertising pitch.

Are your messages heavily laden with graphics?
If so, they might be causing your readers some frustration, or they might not even be getting through their spam filters. e-Mails that are constructed as one large image take more time to load than predominantly textual ones, which can be frustrating for the recipient. Since no text appears while the image is loading, your message may be reported as spam before the contact even sees it. Many spam filters, such as SpamAssassin, place a high spam score on e-mails that have a large image to text ratio. Therefore, the chance that the message will be trapped by a spam filter is increased.

In addition, text rendered in an image does not print as clearly as real text, and requires more memory.

Are your messages personally addressed?
Unlike traditional advertising, e-Mail Marketing is a one-to-one medium. The contact's Inbox is his or her private domain. Addressing contacts by name makes a message appear more personal, and contacts are less likely to report a message as spam if they believe there is a reason for them being on the list (i.e., if they are addressed personally, they will believe they must have subscribed at some point).

Take a free test drive of BetterMail.ca, a comprehensive, do-it-yourself e-marketing system. In addition to powerful e-mail sending capabilities and incredible ease of use, you get flexible site integration tools to make complex forms and surveys on your web site and in e-mails easily. Real time reporting, full customization and assurance that your e-mails are actually delivered through our relationships with major e-mail providers (AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) complete the solution to deliver e-mail marketing confidence and power.

How to publish an e-Mail Campaign

Sun, 13 May 2007 20:03 GMT

PUBLISH YOUR E-MAIL CAMPAIGN
How do you publish an e-mail campaign that engages your prospects and pulls in sales?
You need two things: content and design.

CONTENT
Many business people don’t believe they are good writers or have anything important to say. For the first concern, you can hire a writer. For the second concern, you can do simple research and come up with great new ideas and produce a compelling e-newsletter.

1) Scour the Internet for ideas.
2) Ask your clients what matters most to them, what they read, and what topics they want to know more about.
3) Read relevant magazines to see what they are writing about.

Many believe educating their prospects will turn them into clients. Not so. In your e-newsletter you don’t have to do unpaid consulting. You must provide some good advice but just enough to tease them into wanting to know more. Teach them something new but don’t try and teach them everything. Be brief.

Here are some ideas to get you started on content:
· Articles on a topical item
· News
· Tips
· Best practices
· Regulations
· Links to articles
· Links to resources

DESIGN
You’ve got great content, now you need to package it with a great look. Should you, your web designer or an outside professional be creating your e-mails? Should you use e-mail templates? The answer depends on your budget.

BetterMail.ca is a comprehensive, do-it-yourself e-marketing solution. In addition to powerful e-mail sending capabilities and incredible ease of use, you get flexible site integration tools to make complex forms and surveys on your web site and in e-mails easily. Real time reporting, full customization and assurance that your e-mails are actually delivered through our relationships with major e-mail providers (AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) complete the solution to deliver e-mail marketing confidence and power.

CANADA: SPEAKER SEARCH

Wed, 09 May 2007 07:33 GMT

Speaker's Gold is looking for 3 of the most talented speakers to speak at its client appreciation event in October IN FRONT OF MEETING PLANNERS AND CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS.

TALENT SEARCH
DATE: June 21
TIME: 7 - 9 pm
LOCATION: Trinity St Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor St W
CRITERIA:
1) No more than 10 paid speaking engagements (+$1,000) in past 12 months
2) Deliver a 3-minute motivational speech
3) 2 referrences/ testimonials
4) DVD or video is optional

Register at Speaker's Gold or call 416-532-9886