AtlantaEvent.com NewsFlash - Level The Playing Field?

Intro From Jeff Glaze

Jeff Glaze
Editor



"Buy my eye-opening ebook!" from Jeff Glaze, The editor of AtlantaEvent.com

Greetings from Jeff,

It is sometimes a lonely life when you discuss something controversial. In your social life do you ever find yourself not talking about something controversial simply because you believe that it would not be readily welcomed into the conversation? I used to believe that there were several things that you could not discuss in an open social environment. At first it was just politics and religion. Then when I became a vegetarian, diet went into the "do not discuss" blender. Then when I started using computers, it was the discussion of the PC versus the Macintosh or "MAC" talk about passionate computer users!.

Now that the global market has been expanded by the internet, global outsourcing has been added to the list. Maybe you don't even think about outsourcing on a daily basis. Like the weather it is happening all around you.

I have been noticing in the news lately a lot of talk about illegal immigration with the advent of "The Minutemen Border Patrol" and if you ever watch Fox News, this week they are throwing gasoline on the fires of illegal immigration and outsourcing.

A few newsletters ago, I wrote an article about starting a business and competition called "It's a me too world". In that article I spoke about the fact that when you do something that is perceived to be successful, and it gains attention in the business community, it is inevitable that someone else will start a business just like yours.

When that happens you can complain, or you can innovate, but you can't isolate.

Our economy is like Pandora's box. The lid has been lifted and the spirits of competition are swirling around us. We sometimes look to the government to step in and save us, but the reality is that our hands were on the lid when it was lifted. We wanted cheaper clothes, cheaper cars, and cheaper televisions so we opened the box, and we got what we wanted from countries with cheaper labor.

Now those countries are experiencing the same kind of competition from undeveloped countries with cheaper labor. Is business fair? No it is not. There is no such thing as leveling the playing field in business. The only way to do that is to implement socialism where there are two classes of people. The rulers and the workers. We all know the outcome of that experiment. No one really owns anything, so no one cares and only the ruling class wins.

So what can we do to compete? Improve and innovate. That is about it. We improve our skills, our products, our services, our attitudes and put our heads down and dive into the mix. We are slam dancing in the mosh pit of a global economy that has no rules and is out for only one outcome - to win. We have to play hard to win and realize that to have things be cheap, they have to be made cheaply. We have to develop skills that enable us to go head to head with the competition and be prepared for the battle that is business. Isolation at this point is not an option.

We must admit to ourselves that there is no level playing field out there and the only way to get one is to build it ourselves. Once we begin to take action and improve, innovate and learn to not be threatened by or afraid of competition, we are free to seek solutions that can propel ourselves and our business to new and higher levels of success.

I'm out there with you. Let's get started!

Be sure to plan to attend the Atlanta Business Mixer this Thursday (see below). We are expecting a lot of people this month and I am sure you will enjoy the evening. We always have food, so don't eat before you get there, Copeland's food is great! Be sure to find me and say hello, won't you?

Thanks for subscribing and be sure to tell others about AtlantaEvent.com!

Jeff Glaze - Editor

Every Minute Matters: Discerning Attendee Types

By Susan Friedmann, CSP


Editor's Note:

This is valuable information for anyone who buys a display table for ANY kind of business event.

I often see a company that has a website that looks great from a design perspective, yet from a marketing and sales perspective the site is not working. Many people are under the mistaken belief that if a potential customer or client visits their site they will be so impressed they will automatically return time and again. Fact is, this is not what happens in the real world of the Internet. Chances are within minutes most visitors have forgotten sites they looked at unless there was something that encouraged them to remember.

People remember based on the value you create and a problem being solved. They also remember by you keeping your name and company fresh in their mind.

One way to do this is to offer visitors the opportunity to opt in to your mailing list. If people have taken the time to visit your site, you need to encourage them to leave their contact information. You do this by offering them something that is incredibly valuable that they sign up for.

It’s incredible how many companies, large and small, miss the opportunity to encourage visitors to sign up for something. It is in the signing up you will build a mailing list that is worth more than its weight in gold.

Most people are so overloaded with information that if you don’t immediately solve a problem for them they are not going to be interested in signing up for anything. Additionally, once they sign up if your information does not continue to solve their problem they will want off your list.

In today’s world of Internet marketing, your job is to look for ways to continually offer value while increasing your distribution list.

Specific Strategies to Increase Your Distribution List
* If you are in the retail industry, every time someone comes to your store, simply ask them if you can add them to your distribution list to keep them updated on specials, events, and unique offers. In most cases if they are attracted to your store, they will gladly give you their information. Make sure to get their email address.

* If you have a current mailing list of clients, conduct a survey and offer an incentive for people to respond. Direct them to your site where they fill out a survey and perhaps receive a free report or eBook.

* If you do any type of presentations as a part of your job, collect contact information from the attendees. Send a follow-up message within 48 hours inviting them to sign up for your Ezine.

* Use your email signature file to encourage people to sign up for an incentive on your website. Put the web link right in your signature.

* Put a sign-up box on every page of your site. Many websites have a sign-up on the main page but have not put one up on other pages of their site. Fact is, a web search for a specific product or service can take people anywhere on your site, not just the main page. Make it easy for them to sign-up for something from every page.

* Write and distribute articles online with a strong byline at the end of the article. A byline is simply an information piece that is usually a few sentences in length. In the byline direct readers back to your website for something of value.

* Offer a free report from your site. Make sure it is compelling enough for people to want to sign up.

* Offer free eBooks to encourage people to leave their contact information in order to download the file.

Opt-in lists are one of the most powerful marketing tools you have in your online and offline marketing. Complemented by a good Ezine, website, consistent focus on driving traffic to your site and gaining visibility, the potential for growing your business is unlimited.

Kathleen Gage is a keynote speaker, author and business advisor specializing in marketing and promotions. Access Gage’s’s FREE eBook Street Smarts Marketing On the Internet at streetsmartsmarketing.com/free-ebook.htm

What’s wrong with the Internet? It must be broken!

by Caren A. Adams

Read Chapter 12 In "Guerrilla Marketing in 30 days" about AtlantaEvent.com

After months of scouring the internet, I could not put my hands on the 2 million links various search engines said were available to do my book promotions. First, let me say I perceive myself as an intermediate user of the internet, but maybe my perception was misguided as I searched and realized I couldn’t put my pointer on the links I wanted.

The promotion of my book began with submitting a press release (PR) to one of the major PR services on the internet. They tracked how many click through(s) received, and I began to think, if so many eyes are looking at the PR on this site and web crawlers (whatever those are?) are picking up the PR for other sites; what would limit me from submitting as many PRs as possible? This was not the only site that provided this wonderful FREE service and the more places I had the PR, the greater my chances of being picked up by “big” media.

My imagination began to go wild, conjuring up that lone journalist who was itching to break the story on the next bestseller. You chuckle! With this PR service, I placed the needle in the haystack but I could improve my chances if many needles were placed. A technique I learned from my days of online sweeping. What is that you ask?

If allowed, the more you entered a particular sweepstakes the better your chances of winning as was one man’s story where he would send out literally thousands of entries and had won valuable prizes. My odds with sweeping were not stellar but I do have a few trinkets to show for my limited efforts.

Hopefully, with my quadrupled book promotion efforts I could have stellar results—dreaming again.

Tip 1: There are auto-fill internet form software available and some even designate a few empty fields for your own personal use. A lifesaver when you have to input the PR summary line more than a few times.

Tip 2: Don’t input your social security number and credit card information because I have read of mistakes made because of the ease of auto-fill.

Okay, I have deviated.

So I proceed to use my internet service provider and searched for “submit press release” and was in heaven when it responded with 2 million sites to upload my PR. I would spend hours determining which sites were free; which maybe more receptive; and which needed me to tweak the PR. Then just as quickly, my dream was shattered. I couldn’t go any further than 250 links, Why can’t I see or go to the other sites?

I contacted my internet service provider to complain and they “allegedly” helped me to fix the browser. That didn’t work, so I moved on to the next major internet service provider, and again was limited to how many links I could access.

This time, I levied a stiff complaint about the violation of the freedom of information act, which I think only pertains to government (real smart). Why am I not allowed to access all 2 million-search results containing “submit press release”? It is only right that we have access to all the information on the internet, and not limited by how much or what we can see. Worst of all, we aren't able to refresh the search and to be presented with other links we have not viewed.

I assume, businesses with an internet presence would perceive themselves as having access to the world, where millions are able to view their products and or services, and as a result, their livelihoods would be better—meeting of the minds was just not taking place. And in this world of legalese, SPAM laws limit those who are promoting on meager budgets, and the few legal options we have of putting our product in the market place via the internet; where websites are actually telling us to submit information, our browsers (or internet service providers) are denying us access.

I continued checking the top search engines and kept encountering the same problems. What was most irritating about the search, besides the same links coming up, a few sites would fill several pages of the results with multiple categories. Do these websites have a monopoly on my already limited internet search?

It was infuriating, the process was tedious, and now I was livid. Convinced my internet was broken, I was on a mission to fix it. I had another great idea, it was my browser (whatever that is?) that needed fixing and found a website that offered free software to do the job. I was nervous; I could be opening up myself to a can of worms, my husband would kill me for infecting HIS system. With all the scare of viruses and spy ware, I decided to only download what I thought were reputable software and ended up back at the number one software company. Based on their computer evaluation I already had the most updated browser. I was relieved, 1) I didn’t have to download anything, and 2) the browser was working.

What was the fix?

I continued my search efforts, going down the list of internet service providers. Alas! I think it’s working, I was flipping through pages, upon pages of links, so far I am at the 900th link to submit my PR, hoping my success continues. Though the search results were still littered by a few sites, at least, I was able to bypass them to go to obscure sites to submit the news about my book. The press release may have a huge appeal to that lone journalist working at “big” media, or maybe just one buyer willing to pay a few bucks for a great book. In this day and age, with the proliferation of information, I am happy to have any appeal at all.

Caren A. Adams is a freelance writer and author of “Life 101 For the Young and Young at Heart!” ISBN 1-59457-835-4, $13.99 ($7.99 e-book) at bookstores, booksurge.com and amazon.com. : amacapublishing@aol.com

Click here
Freely give and freely you shall receive!