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January 26, 2007

FOUR FOR FRIDAY

Q1 - Smoking Bans: There's little dispute that smoking and second-hand smoke is bad for your health. But did you know it could also be bad for your driving record? Last week in Maine, the Bangor City Council passed an ordinance making smoking while driving in the car with children under the age of 18 a primary offense, meaning the police can pull over motorists who are suspected of breaking the law, with violators being fined up to $50 per occurrence. Do you think the Bangor City Council made the right decision, or is this just another situation where the government is interfering in our lives?

Q2 - Time: Which do you prefer: Military Time/the 24-hour clock... "I'll meet you at the gym at 19:00," or the more traditional way of expressing time via the 12-hour clock... "I'll meet you at the gym at 7:00 p.m."?

Q3 - You're Outta Here!: Were you ever suspended from school, and if so, what for? If not, did you ever skip school? If you did, what was your most memorable skipping-school experience?

Q4 - Gas: Sixty-five percent (65%) of U.S. respondents to a new UPI-Zogby International poll say a rise in gasoline prices to $4.00 a gallon would cause them to make a significant cutback in driving. Another 13.3 percent said it would take $5.00 a gallon for them to change habits, while 3.1 percent said $6.00 would get their attention. How about you...at what price per gallon would you choose or be forced to make a significant cutback or change in your driving habits?

Posted by Mikal at 12:01 AM | Comments (15) | TrackBack

January 22, 2007

BLOGGING TO BOOST YOUR BUSINESS - PART II: MAXIMIZING YOUR BLOG'S POTENTIAL

Here's Part II of the article I wrote for work. As with Part I, you are invited to reprint this article on your own blog or Website, provided that all content�including the "About the Author" and "Note" at the bottom�is included and remains unchanged.
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Blogging to Boost Your Business - Part II: Maximizing Your Blog's Potential

by Mikal Belicove, Director of Community and Education - Doba

In Part I of this article, I gave you four great reasons for blogging about the products you sell. A blog won't do much good, though, unless it draws the attention of consumers who are in the market for the products you sell. Fortunately, the Web offers numerous promotional opportunities to steer prospective customers to your blog. In this part, we reveal several of these opportunities and show you how to skyrocket the visibility or your blog and, ultimately, your business.

Capitalize on opportunities to promote your blog

The information superhighway is loaded with space where you can erect virtual billboards and road signs directing traffic to your blog. After you create your roadside attraction, start erecting signs, so passersby know how to get there:

• Spread your link far and wide. Established websites and blogs already have a steady stream of traffic that you can steer your way. Search for websites and blogs related to the items you sell, and ask the creators of those sites to link to your blog. (Steer clear of competitors, of course.) In exchange, offer to link from your blog to their site. For example, if you sell model trains, see if some of the national or regional membership associations for model train enthusiasts would be wiling to provide a link to your site in exchange for one back to theirs.


• Take a detour around obstacles. eBay prohibits sellers from linking listings to an external sites that sell goods. You can, however, link to any type of site from your eBay About Me page, without breaking the rules. Simply place a link to your blog on your About Me page, and then delicately mention your About Me page in your eBay listing.


• Use incentives to lure customers to your blog. Add a sweet morsel to entice viewers and send them rapidly clicking to your blog. Your incentive should be clear enough to be enticing but vague enough that readers will need to visit your blog to find out how to obtain the reward. For example, you might say, "Save 10% off your next purchase by visiting my blog.>/li>
  
• List your blog with the leading blog indexes and search engines. This part is really a cinch, as complex as it might sound. Why? Because Google does most of the work for you. As the world's leading search engine, Google is guaranteed to bring blog readers your way with its blog-specific search tool. The best part? You have to ask them not to list you�otherwise, you're automatically in the ring. Aside from Google, you have a few other fantastic opportunities for getting your blog to stand out among the abyss�go to Technorati.com and register there under "Claim my blog" for free exposure. The Truth Laid Bear Blogosphere Ecosystem does the same for you�head to Truthlaidbear.com/ecosystem.php and sign up for a free account. These sites even let you see how readers are ranking your blog.

Use your blog to shuttle readers to your store

People visit blogs because of curiosity, personal connections, and in a quest for knowledge, and they do not appreciate heavy-handed sales pitches. You can and should, however, mention your products and link to your webstore. Blogs are a perfect venue for soft-sell sales. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Talk about your eBay business or eCommerce webstore. Briefly mention your store in every other blog entry or so, and devote an entire entry every few weeks or so to your business. Relate to fellow hobbyists and aficionados on a personal level, cluing them in on the vision behind your business, your reasons for starting it, and your passion for running it.


• Post links to your store in conspicuous places, but keep them to a reasonable minimum. Use your judgment as a consumer to determine how much is enough.


• Optimize the use of page layout to draw attention to your eBay account's presence. Post a link in a speech bubble of sorts near the top of your blog, highlight it with colors and borders, vary the font and font size from that of your blog, and put it where you know readers won't miss it. Let your creative juices and your intuition guide you, but try not to make it look like too much like an ad.

Clone your blog in other locales

Once you've created a blog, you've done most of the heavy-lifting in terms of design and content. Leverage the power of your blog by cloning it on other free blog hosting services. Here are a couple suggestions:

• eBay's My World at myworld.ebay.com enables you to harness the marketing power of eBay and direct eBay member traffic to your blog.


• MySpace at www.myspace.com offers access to a huge community of active bloggers of all ages. Through the MySpace "groups" feature, you can create your own active, loyal community and drive traffic to your eBay account or webstore.

Tip: As much as possible, design the cloned blog to mimic your own, creating somewhat of a brand presence. Countless site-design tools offer free tips to help you customize a MySpace page, and one great tool I recently found allows you to easily fashion your eBay My World page after your blog. Check out www.isdntek.com for lots of great guides and shortcuts.

As you've discovered in Parts I and II of this article, a blog can be a powerful marketing tool, assuming you manage it properly. Don't let the clamor of other competing retailers drown out your presence in the marketplace. Harness the power of blogging to raise yourself and your business above the rest.

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About the Author: Mikal E. Belicove is an expert at building and supporting online communities of practice and Business-to-Business-related social networks. As Doba's Director of Community & Education, Mikal oversees the company's efforts to educate retail business owners and connect customers with one another. Mikal is the author of 2007 Edition of the Internet Yellow Pages (Que Publishing/ Pearson, 10/06), co-authored with Joe Kraynak.

Note: You are invited to reprint this article in your own newsletter or on your blog or website, provided that all content�including this signature�is included and remains unchanged

Posted by Mikal at 8:30 AM | Comments (1)

January 19, 2007

Q1 - The Bathroom Door: When you're home alone and find that it's time to use the bathroom, do you shut the bathroom door, or do you leave it open?

Q2 - Door Number Two: We've all seen them...unisex bathrooms in restaurants or in the workplace that have both a urinal and a separate toilet surrounded by a stall, all behind a lockable door. Assuming you lock the door to the bathroom (which I'm guessing every sane/reasonable human being does), if you choose to use the toilet inside of the stall, do you also lock the stall door, or do you leave it unlocked?

Q3 - Under or Over: According to a physics professor quoted by Ann Landers, to get (the toilet paper roll) to turn requires a certain torque, which comes from the tension in the paper being withdrawn. The greater the distance between the plane of the paper being pulled and the axis support line, the lesser the force required and the lesser the chance of tearing the paper before you have enough. Which camp are you in: Should the toilet paper be hung so the paper dangles over or under the roll?

Q4 - Keeping It Clean: How often do you clean your bathroom? When you do clean it, do you clean certain parts--like the toilet or the sink or the shower/tub--at various times, or do you like to get the whole job done in one sitting (no pun intended)?

January 15, 2007

I wrote the following article for work and thought I'd post it here for anyone who might be interested in leveraging the power of their blog for eCommerce-related purposes. You are invited to reprint this article on your own blog or website, provided that all contentóincluding the "About the Author" and "Note" at the bottom is included and remains unchanged.

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Blogging to Boost Your Online Business - Part I: Understanding Blogs and How They Can Help Your Online Business

By Mikal E. Belicove, Director of Community & Education - Doba

To the average online shopper, you're just another small retailer trying to earn a buck on the Internet. If you sell on eBay, all a buyer knows about you is right there in your product listing and perhaps your seller rating, and that isn't much. If you operate an eCommerce-enabled website, maybe you have an "About" page that says a little something about you and your company. At the end of the day, though, that isn't much, either!

Sound brutal? It is. But so is the retail business. In the global marketplace, anyone can attempt to sell anything. To succeed, you have to prove why you're special, and one of the best ways to do that is to publish a blog.

A blog is an online soapbox of sortsóa stage upon which you can demonstrate your passion and knowledge for your product line, individual products, and commitment to your customers. It's a virtual community that encourages visitors to interact and talk back. It's a marketing tool that gives you a daily opportunity to earn credibility and trustóthe two most valuable assets that money can't buy.

Technically speaking, a blog is an easily, instantly, and frequently updated websiteócreated and maintained by using free and easy-to-use software designed for people who don't want to learn how to design a website or use HTML.

In Part I of this article, I show you how blogging can help grow your online business. Essentially, our point is this: If you design a blog that attracts readers and earn their loyalty (thanks to your fount of knowledge, charming wit, or stellar writing skills), you should be able to capitalize on the intrigue and convert these viewers into paying customers. With minimal efforts, your customer base can literally multiply.

In Part II, you gather strategies and tips to take full advantage of your blog and maximize its potential for supporting the sale of your products and building an active community of loyal customers.

Establish your credibility as an expert in consumers' eyes

Clearly, if you have enough to say about a topic that you can fill pages about it, you know much more than a thing or two about that topic. Odds are you've done your homework and have gone above and beyondóafter all, what passionate person is satisfied with just the need-to-know info about the object of his affection? By exploring and explaining various aspects of a hobby or item and sharing your two cents for thought or discussion, you gain credibility with others as an authority in that field.

Anyone with a degree in Business Administration will recognize this concept as thought leadership. But we know you don't need a business degree to run a successful businessówhat you really need to know is how to actually achieve this kind of success-building leadership. The key: Know as much as you can about your products, and spread the word like wildfire. Encourage others to participate in the dialogue, and they'll eagerly jump on board your blog. Of course, professional presentation and verbal skill is essential to garnering this kind of respect. By continually investigating your topic and sharing your knowledge with others, in addition to adding your own commentary, you can establish a reputation with consumers as the guru that you are. And who better to buy from than a guru!

Note: Be aware that you can easily create a poor reputation if you don't maintain professionalism in your blog. So, be sure to decide first how you want to present yourself and then consistently follow through with that vision. This is not to say that you should write in a way that readers need a dictionary on hand to decipher your guru-speak. See Part II of this article for tips on setting and maintaining the right tenor.

Enhance visibility and widen your customer base

In everyday life you have numerous ways of communicating about your interests: face to face, on the phone, via e-mail, and so on. You're limited, though, to those people near you or those you manage to meet. Blogging, however, expands your influence; it's essentially your own public monologue that buyers can find and respond to as they wish. With a blog, your potential audience is virtually limitless.

In addition, not everyone who's interested in a particular product or topic is seeking to shopóCyberspace has window shoppers, too. Your eBay account or online store, then, may be unlikely to reach that audience, but a blog offers a way to attract surfers who may not otherwise see your products. Engage them, direct them to your store, and watch as your sales increase.

Blogs have a number of ways to rise among the infinite sea of Web pages, the most common being via search engines. As long as you establish your privacy settings as completely public, a search engine will pull up your blog among other results when it locates a requested keyword. See Part II of this article for more strategies on boosting your blog's visibility.

Establish an emotional connection with your readers

More often than not, common interests attract. A connection is made, a lasting friendship is born, and the story continues. Nowadays, people are taking advantage of the wide expanse of the Internet as a prime locale for building relationships. It encourages interaction simply by virtue of the mandatory mouse-click. Click, read, connect, engage.

Suppose, for example, you blog about your passion for low-brow art (which you also happen to sell). Other lovers of low-brow art are likely to find you, look around your blog, jump in on the discussions, and take a look at the items you're selling on eBay or another eCommerce-enabled site that you conspicuously link out to. They'll see what you're all about, and if they like it, they'll come back for more.

Blog readers don't fool around when it comes to blogs they enjoy; they quickly become regulars, akin to the cohorts at Cheers. Passion meets passion, and sparks fly. The result: a growing relationship based on an emotional connection, initiated thanks to your enthusiasm for the thing you love and sell.

Boost enthusiasm for your products

When you write a blog that relates to your online business, not only does it create a common place for you to connect with readers, but it also builds enthusiasm for your products. The saying "Enthusiasm is contagious" is an age-old adage that still holds some truth. Consider for a moment school pep rallies, pre-game tailgating, reality television, political rallies, and religious gatherings. The same holds true for anything you and others value.

Put yourself in the Web surfer's sandals: Suppose you've taken a liking to model cars. You happen upon a fellow model-car-devotee's blog and are introduced to cars you've never seen and aspects of model-car collecting that you've never considered. Gradually, you're drawn in as you survey the glory of the model car, and thanks to the efficiency of Web browsers, you're able to easily bookmark your new favorite page. Your initial reaction to the site was likely one of excitement, and as you continue to revisit the blog, your gusto grows, sparked by one person's passion for your common love. Sooner or later, you recognize a deep need to act on your quickly escalating hobby. So, you put your money where your heart is, and voila! The blog aficionado has just earned your business, which likely won't be a one-time investment, thanks to the fervor welling up within you (and the goose pimples you got when you clicked "Confirm purchase").

Now that you're aware of blogging's many potential benefits, hopefully you're a little closer to taking the leap and creating one of your own. In Part II of this article, you discover a host of strategies and tips for maximizing the effectiveness of this powerful online marketing tool.

About the Author: Mikal E. Belicove is an expert at building and supporting online communities of practice and Business-to-Business-related social networks. As Doba's Director of Community & Education, Mikal oversees the company's efforts to educate retail business owners and connect customers with one another. Mikal is the author of 2007 Edition of the Internet Yellow Pages (Que Publishing/ Pearson, 10/06), co-authored with Joe Kraynak.

Note: You are invited to reprint this article in your own newsletter or on your blog or website, provided that all contentóincluding this signatureóis included and remains unchanged.

January 12, 2007

Q1 - Gift Cards: The National Retail Federation says that we spent $24.81 billion this past holiday season on Gift Cards, and that each one us spent more on gift card contributions last year than the year before (the average consumer, says the NRF, spent $116.51 in 2006 vs. $88.03 in 2005). Did you purchase a gift card for someone last year? If not, did you receive a gift card from someone as a holiday gift?

Q2 - Email: When you open your email in-box for the first time each day, which messages do you read first? Do you read them in reverse chronological order or do you pick and choose which ones to read first based on a different priority?

Q3 - Weather: The current El Nino weather anomaly that can create atmospheric havoc around the world should continue into the spring, extending unseasonably warm temperatures in North American through March, the U.S. National Weather Service predicted yesterday. How has the weather impacted your life these last few months? If you live up north, are you receiving more or less snow; and if you in the down south, is it cooler or warmer than normal? Despite whether (no pun intended) you normally receive snow or not, are you happy, sad, or indifferent about your area's current weather?

Q4 - National Guard Service: For the first time since President George W. Bush mobilized the National Guard and Reserve (after 9/11), the Pentagon is abandoning its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty. Until now, the Pentagonís policy on the National Guard and Reserve was that membersí cumulative time on active duty could not exceed 24 months. That cumulative limit is now lifted; the remaining limit is on the length of any single mobilization, which may not exceed 24 consecutive months. In other words, a citizen-soldier could be mobilized for a 24-month stretch in Iraq or Afghanistan, then demobilized and allowed to return to civilian life, only to be mobilized a second time for as much as 24 additional months. In your opinion, is the Pentagon's change fair, and furthermore, do you think it's called for?

January 5, 2007

Q1 - Investing: If you had extra money to invest in 2007, where would you put it? Real Estate, the stock market, municipal bonds, a friend's start-up, in a savings account, in a hedge fund, under your mattress, in a foreign market, in U.S. savings bonds, mutual funds, precious metals, your 401K or IRA, baseball cards, or somewhere else?

Q2 - Execution: As recently as yesterday afternoon, nearly six days after it happened, U.S. President George W. Bush steadfastly denied having seen the video of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's execution. Do you believe him?

Q3 - Gays in the Military: A recent poll from Zogby International shows that U.S. military personnel are increasingly at ease serving with openly gay colleagues. The poll reveals that 73 percent of military members are not bothered by lesbians and gays serving alongside them. Nearly one in four (23 percent) service members polled reported knowing for certain that someone in their unit is lesbian or gay, including 21 percent of those in combat units. Do you feel gay people should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military, and despite what you believe, has you opinion on this matter changed any over the last 5-10 years?

Q4 - Movie: What was the last movie you saw, and would you recommend that I take my Mother to see it?