Tuesday, January 5th, 2009

Featured Resource

Join the Duct Tape Marketing Coach Network in 2010

Join the Duct Tape Marketing Coach Network and become part of a network of small business consultants and coaches across North America that are discovering the tremendous power behind the Duct Tape Marketing Brand, Tools, Programs and Systems.

Let our brand open doors and help you take your business to the next level. We are looking for marketing professionals with a passion to serve small business.

Exclusive access to provide our newest program - Social Media Pro!

Live Discovery Webinar - Enroll for an upcoming session here - to learn about the opportunity.

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Featured Resource #1

How to Use Facebook for Business

Everyone knows Facebook has become a powerful business tool, right? Well, maybe, but what most small businesses want to know is how to tap the power of this new platform with practical
methods that get results.

Join me January 21st at Noon CST as I host a panel of Facebook experts in a live webinar discussion. Register here

Panelists include:

• Mari Smith - marismith.com
• Nick O'Neil - Allfacebook.com
• Dave Kerpen - thekbuzz.com

We will discuss the right way to get started, how to create a Facebook Fan Page, using Facebook Advertising, how to generate and convert leads using Facebook, and applications that can make your Facebook pages sing.

This event is sponsored by GoToWebinar - Web Events and Online Meetings Made Easy as part of a 3 part small business series.

Featured Resource #2

White Paper Success Summit 2010

I am very excited to be a part of the White Paper Success Summit 2010: This live online event is packed with speaker after speaker focused on showing you the best ways to attract quality leads and grow your business with educational white papers.

The world’s leading white paper experts will show you how. Join Michael Stelzner (author, Writing White Papers), Bob Bly (author, White Paper Marketing Handbook), Brian J. Carroll (author, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale), Jill Konrath (author, Selling to Big Companies), Roger C. Parker (author, White Paper Design that Sells), Joe Pulizzi (author, Get Content Get Customers), Ardath Albee (author, eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale), Jonathan Kantor (author, Crafting White Paper 2.0) and me! Attend from your home or office. Tickets half-off until Jan. 6th.Go here and check out the free summit video

Once other presenters show you how to craft a killer white paper, I’m going to show you how to Get Other Businesses to Promote it for you. Wouldn’t be great if you could enlist an army of businesses to voluntarily put your white paper in the hands of their customers and prospects? In my session I’ll share my step-by-step approach for enlisting strategic referral partners who will take advantage of and leverage your white paper.

This is an event worth investing in and yes the links in this post are affiliate links – I’ve got to eat you know.

Featured Article

5 Ways to Grow Your Local Business With Social Media

This article is a reprint from my column at AMEX OPEN Forum from Dec 21, 2009

Let’s face it; most small businesses do the bulk of their business locally. So, the thought of gaining access to Facebook’s 300 trillion users (may be more by now) isn’t that relevant or useful.

However, if those local businesses could use the some of the new powerful online tools and platforms to gain access to the 200-300 social media users in their town, now that might just make some sense.

There are many ways to filter, sort, aggregate and otherwise take advantage of social media tools that can specifically benefit even the smallest neighborhood oriented business.

Below are five things any local business can do to get more business using social media tools

1) Start a Local Group Online

Most social network platforms offer some form of group creation. Any member has the ability to start a group around a niche or pretty much any topic – including a local topic. Sites such as Flickr, Facebook, LinkedIn and Slideshare all allow members to create and manage groups.

For example here’s a local independent merchant group in Austin, TX using a Flickr Group to promote it’s “Keep Austin Weird” slogan.

This Boston Networking Group on LinkedIn was founded by Jeff Popin, owner of BostonEventGuide.com. With over 3,000 members, there’s a pretty good bet this group serves as a conduit for Popin’s main business locally.

2) Find and Network with Local Bloggers

Using tools such as Placeblogger, outside.in, Bloglines you can locate bloggers in your community that might have an interest in writing about your business or industry or actively linking to your blog.

Networking with relevant bloggers locally, commenting on their blog posts, and maybe even contributing a post is a great way to create additional local exposure. Don’t forget to seek out and add blogs from traditional media publications locally as well. Most radio, TV and news journalists have been asked to write a blog as part of their job, these can be great local social media contacts if you take the time to build relationships though their blogs.

Read the Rest of the Article Here-->

Image credit: gloom

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John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide.

He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting http://www.ducttapemarketing.com

You may reprint this article in its entirety if you attribute the article to John Jantsch and include the information about the author above.

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Featured Reading

The 4 - Hour Workweek - Timothy Ferriss

4-hour Workweek is back with over 100 added pages of expanded and updated content including tips from readers, case studies involving people who have successfully reinvented themselves as a result of Tim's book.

Lots of high-tech shortcuts for living like a millionaire without being one.

More info here

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Featured Listening

The Girl In The Other Room - Diana Krall

I can listen to Diana Krall all day long and do quite often, but somehow I missed this
album, featuring songs she co-wrote with hubby Elvis Costello. She is an incredible
piano player but there's a element to vocals in this album that I've never heard on her covers of jazz standards.

More info here

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