Fresh Thinking Business Blog

Busines Tips, Advice and Resources from Fresh Thinking Business. View articles for business owners, managers and entrepreneurs and watch your business grow ...

 

June 12 , 2007, Make a Great Offer

Need help deciding what call to action will work in offline media to entice prospects? For an integrated campaign that draws a crowd, try one of these:

• A limited-time free or discount offer
• The chance to see, learn or experience something new
• A pass to an event
• A fun experience such as a game or a movie
• A contest, poll or vote
• In-depth information
• A deeper product selection or step up in service
• A subscription or membership
• The opportunity to make a difference
• A special guide or white paper
• A pathway to taking part in the community

Apr 14 , 2007, Don't Trick the Google Ad Click

Placing Google AdSense units and navigation elements on a website can be accomplished without leading to accidental clicks. Webmasters should beware of doing otherwise.

The many ways webmasters can arrange their site elements could lead them to drop their AdSense units in inappropriate places. When there is a chance something could overlap the AdSense unit, people may click on the ad without meaning to do so.

It's something Google looks for in its continuing analysis of ad clicks. Accidental clicks can cost an advertiser money if they aren't sorted out of the legitimate clicks.

Google's AdSense blog addressed this recently, and gave examples of elements that should not have ad units placed too near to them:

• In close proximity to Macromedia Flash games
• Under pop-ups or download prompts
• Near site navigation controls on your pages, such as drop-downs or menu links

Mar 17 , 2007, Achieve Your Business Goals With An Action Plan

You are always more likely to succeed when you have a plan, and with business its no different. When starting up in business the chances of success are greatly increased if you have a business plan. Again if you want to expand your business, a business growth plan will be a valuable aid. Here is a 7-part action plan to help you achieve your business (and life) goals:

1. DECIDE exactly what you want in life in each area, and write it down. Make your goals clear, specific and measurable.

2. SPECIFY the most important skill you could develop to move you into the top 10 percent of people in your field. Then do something immediately to begin developing that skill.

3. IDENTIFY the major constraint or limiting factor inside yourself or in your world that is setting the speed at which you achieve your most important goal, and begin working on removing that constraint today.

4. DETERMINE your single biggest problem or obstacle in your business or personal life. Then focus all your time and attention on the possible solutions.

5. MAKE a list of what you would want to be, do and have if you had no limitations and you were absolutely guaranteed success.

6. ACCEPT complete responsibility for your life. From this day forward, refuse to make excuses or blame anyone for anything. Instead, take action to make your goals a reality.

7. REAFFIRM and visualize your goals of financial success, excellent health and personal happiness as a reality. Remember, the person you see is the person you will be.

Mar 6 , 2007, Amani Children's Home

This year I've decided to raise money for a charity. This is something that is relativly new to me, apart from donating money to a fundraiser someone else has organised, I've never really got involved in the fund raising.

This time I am organising a series of fundraising events over the year to raise money for the Amani Children's Home. Amani Children's Home takes care of orphans and street-children at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It rescues children from malnutrition, homelessness, and abuse. Amani supports over 140 children and is committed to providing a safe place for children to grow in mind, body and spirit. See www.amanikids.org.

These fundraising events will include running a couple half marathons and climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. The first half marathon is this Snday March 11th - The Hastings Half-marathon: http://www.hastings-half.co.uk/

I have only been able to manage limited training - and with this course being one of the toughest half marathons around - I'm definitely going to have my work cut out for me.

If you want to donate, and this can be anything from £2 (or equivalent) upwards, visit my secure donation page at: http://www.justgiving.com/dougplatts

Thank you for all your support.

Doug Platts

Mar 1 , 2007, Out bound linking

There has been alot of talk back and forth about the good and bad effects of out-bound linking. I just thought I would add my thoughts on subject.

While the occasional link to other related sites might not provide much search engine value, to a website owner many outbound links are an entirely different matter. If a site links to the most relevant sites on the theme, including the most important authority sites, the linking out site can gain major importance in Google.

That importance arrives in the form of being regarded as a hub site by Google. Along with the hub site status conferred upon sites that are like train stations for themed links, comes high search rankings. SEO professionals agree that becoming a hub site for a site’s most important keywords is a worthwhile goal. Part of becoming a hub site involves linking out to related sites. Some of those sites might even be competitors.

There will always be people who leave a site for other places, as they are only a click away. It’s really impossible to keep a web visitor captive on a site. The best solution is probably to provide a great site, to which visitors will return over and over, while linking to sites that provide additional theme-related information.

If a website owner wants to gain customers and clients, the onus rests on them to develop the best site possible. That situation will require outgoing links to other sites as well.

There is some definite long term advantage to linking out as well as offering immediate assistance to your site’s visitors. Your site might be accorded the coveted hub site by Google, and the high search rankings that come with that status. You will be glad you linked to some other sites in that case.

Feb 22, 2007, Sign Up for a Site Audit

Are you looking to increase the ranking of your web site so that more potential customers can find you?

Before you spend thousands on a SEO program let us audit your web site to let you know what the search engines are seeing.

The SEO Site Audit is the starting point for any SEO campaign. This SEO report delivers a personalised blue print for your website that will set it on the path to high visibility within all the major search engines.

The report will consist of a 3 to 4 page report that you can give to your web designer or webmaster to help them improve your website ranking.

There are three SEO audits you can purchase, with each one going into more depth when analyzing your website.

Have a look at our SEO Site Audit here

Feb 9, 2007, Reach new markets and grow your business

Visit the business growth section of our business articles and find our latest articles on expanding your business and markets.

Up-selling Strategy: Make the most of your customers
Make the most of your existing customer base with these up-selling strategies. They can...

• provide you with referrals
• introduce you to prospects
• endorse your products and services
• display your literature and products in their offices and homes
• distribute your information
• publish information for you

• Expanding your product line or service offerings
• Using strategic marketing alliances
• Opening a new location
• Marketing on the Internet
• Franchising or licensing your business concept.

• Selling more of what your customers are already buying
• Selling complementary products and services
• Introducing non-complementary products and services
• Offer new products and services that your business has added

Jan 2, 2007, New online articles to improve you website's potential

You've decided on what you want your website to be about and have attracted your visitors through search engines and various other online referers, but how do you keep them on your site and get them coming back for more?

The latest additions to the online business section of our business articles help you design you website to reach its full potential and keep you visitors hooked.

Content building to enhance your site traffic

Structure your site for accessibility

Effective website navigation

Dec 19, 2006, Newsletter out December 26th - sign up today to not miss out

Sign up to our monthly newsletter, out on the last Tuesday of each month. Get all the latest updates to the Fresh Thinking Business website in one great newsletter. Find out about the latest articles and entrepreneur biographies as well as any hints or tips that i think would be useful in the world of business.

For the week following the newsletter release, subscribers will have access to articles and biographies before anyone else. Giving you a first look at all the latest additions and helping you keep ahead of the game. After that week the additions will be integrated into the website for everyone else.

This months newsletter is looking at how online businesses can attract and keep that traffic and business in the vast World Wide Web.

Sign up now to our monthly newsletter.

Dec 14, 2006, Lower your tax bill with with these last minute tax maneuvers

With the holidays so near taxes are probably the last thing on your mind. But now is the perfect time to cut you 2006 tax bill.

To save money, look at how much revenue your business made this year and then estimate for next year. Be aware that your best tax maneuvers will different if this year was an unusually good one, or if you are expecting a jump in sales next year.

If your revenue will rise next year

Hold off paying any expenses until January - you will need the write-offs more next year. Pull in as much revenue as you can collect this year.

If you forecast a slump next year

Now is the time to defer income into 2007 and prepay as many expenses as you can. Make any equipment purchases, or prepay fees now. Revalue, sell off or donate obsolete merchandise for an inventory write-off.

Here is a final tip for lowering your tax bill:

If you are close to the income limit of your tax bracket, make extra efforts to reduce gross income. Some ways of doing this are: donate to a charity or contribute to a retirement plan.

Dec 10, 2006, Latest additions - new biography and networking article

The latest article to be added to the business growth section is all about networking.

Follow these simple but effective tips to help improve your networking skills and expand your business:

• Set a goal to meet five (or more!) new people at each event
• Try one or two new groups per month
• Carry business cards everywhere
• Don't make a beeline for your seat
• Don't sit by peole you know
• Get active
• Be friendly and approachable
• Set a goal for what you expect from each meeting
• Be willing to give to recieve

Also

Continuing on with our entertainment entrepreneur theme the latest biography is all about Oprah Winfrey.

Read how she became one of Americas most wealthy and successful women. Find out how she pioneered the talk show program with her The Oprah Winfrey Show and has won many awards for her entrepreneurial spirit and desire to change society for the better.

Nov 22, 2006, The Rise and Rise of Sean 'P Diddy' Combs

Starting off life in Harlem, Sean Combs has risen to become one of the most influential and well known faces of the entertainment industry.

From creating his own clothing line to opening his own retaurant chain, Combs has not limited his business endeavours to just the entertainment industry.

Read about the life of Sean Combs and other successful entrepreneurs in our entrepreneur biography section.

Nov 13, 2006, Promoting your product/service with Vanity URLs

Are you looking to expand your brand, or have you got a new product or service that you want to promote online. Having your business URL on your marketing materials is a start. However, how about using vanity URLs.

A vanity URL (or vanity domain) is an easy-to-remember URL that is often used to promote a particular product or service.

For example, your company URL may be www.company.com, and your vanity URL for a product XYZ could be www.xyz.com. Often, a vanity URL redirects to a page on your site. For example, www.xyz.com could redirect to www.compnay.com/xyz.html.

This accomplishes three things:

• Firstly, you'll send prospects to the most appropriate landing page. Sending customers to your home page and making them search for what thay want could cost you the sale.
• Secondly, because a redirect is not a seperate site, you'll likely avoid additional site hosting fees. It just allows people to type in one URl and then be sent to another. This can be set up by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). You could pay a small hosting fee for the redirect, this shouldn't be too much and will be less than hosting a seperate site.
• Finally, any links that end up pointing to your vanity URL will count towards the link equity of the company site. If these were two sites the link equity for each site would be seperate.

You do not need to use vanity URLs, but they make great low-cost web marketing tools.

What not to use as a vanity URL

• xyz.com/someone_elses_trademark - Don't use Vanity URLs or redirects that are trademarked products or services of another company.
• xyz.com/offensiveword - Perhaps stating the obvious, but not one to remember.
• xyz.com/easy_to_misspell - Consider avoiding words that are hard to spell, or frequently misspelled. Be careful when using anything with the letter "l" or the number "1" grouped together. Same goes for "u" and "v."
• xyz.com/&*odd_characters$% - Never use special characters. Avoid using capital letters. Also avoid dashes (-) or underlines (_); they are harder for customers to read and remember.

Nov 7, 2006, New monthly newsletter

Subscribe to our free monthly Fresh Thinking Business newsletter.

On the last Tuesday of every month you will recieve details on:

• latest web site services
• latest articles, entrepreneur bios
• recommended business resources
• tips and advice
• latest news in the world of business

Sign-up to our free monthly newsletter today

Nov 6, 2006, Business Directory is Up and Running!

I have just finished adding the first couple of businesses to the Fresh Thinking Business directory.

This directory is open to all types of business - I'm hoping there is a category for everyone.

If there isn't then please choose the closest category from the list and also suggest another one that you think closely describe your business.

If we think there will be enough demand for that category then we will implement a new area - this is up to the discretion of Fresh Thinking Business. Please only make your new category suggestion once.

If you have a website then you can get a link from us once you have implemented a link to the directory from your website.

This is open to everyone and I'm hoping it will become a great networking place for all types of business.

So please feel free to submit your own business and recommend this to all your business associates, friends, family etc... you get my drift!

Take me to the Fresh Thinking Business Directory

Nov 2, 2006, 7 basic components to a successful Customer Relationship Management strategy

The seven basic components of a Customer Relationship Management Model for a small business include:

• A database for customer activity
• Analyses of the database
• Given the analyses, decisions about which customers to target
• Tools for targeting the customers
• How to build relationships with the targeted customers
• Privacy issues
• Metrics for measuring the success of the CRM process

Read about the seven components of a successful Customer Relationship Management (CRM) model

Also read how to develop your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy

Oct 31, 2006, Four Steps to Building Brand Awareness

Analyse your brand by looking at these four elements and see how you can improve your brand and become a market leader.

• Differentiate your brand
• Promise value
• Become a market leader
• Integrate your messages

Use the four steps in this article and build your brand awareness

Oct 26, 2006, Yet another new feature added! - Online Business Glossary

The latest feature to be added to the Fresh Thinking Business web site is a Glossary section of financial, business and online terms. Fresh Thinking Business continues to gather all the things an entrepreneur and small business owner needs to start up their business and help it grow.

View our free tips and advice articles and subscribe to our UK small business directory.

Visit our Online Business Glossary

Oct 23, 2006, Can't find what your looking for?

The latest feature to be added to the Fresh Thinking Business website is a website search section.

If you can't find the piece of information you are looking for try our new seach engine to see if it can track it down.

Try our new search engine and find even more useful tips and advice from Fresh Thinking Business

Oct 22, 2006, Rasing capital for small business

Having enough capital is one of the most important factors for a business, whether you are starting up or looking to expand. But as many entrepreneurs are quickly discovering, raising capital may not be as easy as originally thought.

If your business is too new or too small, some financial services may not consider investing in you. Look closer to home, at friends and family and assess whether they could become a potential investors.

Read some of the best ways of approaching the people you know to invest in your business

Oct 16, 2006, Our new free UK Small Business Directory

Sign up to our UK small business directory today.

Here at Fresh Thinking Business we want to create a network of small businesses that can help each other with their various services to grow and attract more customers and business.

Any small business can join for free and help get your business online and available to the World Wide Web. Fill out the signing up form with as much of your business details as needed and then within a couple of days you will be entered into the directory.

Join our UK small business directory

Oct 15, 2006, Are you looking for company innovation? Try looking within.

Every employee in your company can be a valuable innovator. By creating a culture that encourages innovation and sets particular goals in place, entrepreneurs can train employees to be systematic innovators.

In order to encourage innovative ideas from employees, you must eliminate any type of penalty or judgement for a percieved bad idea. People have to be free to offer up ideas.

A great way to encourage ideas is to have an open forum where all employees gather to have a brainstorming meeting. Avoid getting stuck on one idea or having one employee taking over by sending an e-mail beforehand, asking for any preliminary thoughts and ideas. That way you'll have a stack of e-mails with various ideas and topics to prompt your staff to move forward.

Give your staff a formal evaluation or test so that you can recognise their unique gifts and so determine what kinds of innovators they are. Whether they are the type of innovator that comes up with new ideas or the type of innovator that build on and find new ways to execute other people's ideas.

As a leader it is important to set parameters. Specify what you are looking for, and guide your employees. You'll be amazed at the new concepts and ideas they'll throw at you. One of the main benefits of employee innovation is the competitve advantage it will give your company, but also there is a secondary advantage of creating greater employee empowerment and satisfaction. People like to feel like they are part of the process and enjoy ways of exercising their creative juices. The more people you get involved, the greater the effect of these benefits will be to your company.

Oct 15, 2006, Latest Entrepreneur Biography - Sam Walton

Read our biography of Sam Walton, billionaire and founder of multimillion dollar retail giant Wal-Mart.

How he used innovative business management techniques to make his employees feel part of the company and went that extra mile to make sure his customers were looked after and recieved the best value possible.

Read Sam Walton's biography in full here

Oct 10, 2006, New article - SWOT Analysis: Evaluate Your Business

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate a business or a business venture or any other situation that requires a decision. A SWOT analysis evaluates the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the project.

Click here to read how to perform a SWOT analysis on your business

Oct 8, 2006, New Entrepreneur Biography Section at Fresh Thinking Business

New areas are being added all the time at the Fresh Thinking Business web site. Most recently is the Entrepreneur Biography section where new bios are added every week.

Read about the men and women who have succeeded as entrepreneurs. The stories of how they did it and their motivation of both the famous and local entrepreneur ...

Richard Branson Biography

Virgin Founder & Entrepreneur

"Sometimes I do wake up in the mornings and feel like I've just had the most incredible dream. I've just dreamt my life" - Richard Branson

Click here to read Richard Branson's biography in full at the new Entrepreneur Biography section

Oct 6, 2006, A quick nine-step guide to your business plan

Do you really need a need a business plan? Of course do!

Businesses that have a business plan are far more likely to succeed than those that don't. You need a plan that covers everything. It must be functional and useful. It must be a working plan.

Your business plan might be one page. Excellent work. It might be twenty pages - that's fine, too. Your business plan should be as detailed as it needs to be in order to be useful. Because being useful is the bottom line.

Just what should a good business plan contain?

Here is a quick nine-step guide to what you will need in your company's business plan

Oct 3, 2006, Sam Walton: 10 Rules for Building a Successful Business

Sam Walton grew up poor during the Great Depression, yet rose to start the biggest retail store Wal-Mart.

When Walton died in 1992, the family's net worth approached $25 billion. Today, Wal-Mart is the world's #1 retailer, with more than 4,150 stores, including discount stores, combination discount and grocery stores, and membership-only warehouse stores (Sam's Club).

Read Sam Walton's 10 Rules for Building a Successful Business:

1. Commit to your business.

2. Share your profits with all your associates, and treat then as partners.

3. Motivate your partners.

4. Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners.

5. Appreciate everything your associates do for the business.

6. Celebrate your success.

7. Listen to everyone in your company and figure out ways to get them talking.

8. Exceed your customer's expectations.

9. Control your expenses better than your competition.

10. Swim upstream.

Click here to read these rules in full and other free business articles at Fresh Thinking Business

Oct 3, 2006, Content building to enhance your site traffic

The design and layout of your web site is important, but your potential customers are visiting your site to see the goods or services you can offer them. Content is what drives traffic to your site, so you must ensure that the information you place on your web pages is engaging and relevant to the customers you are trying to attract.

Click here to see how to encourage users to read your content and stick with your web site

Sep 28, 2006, Keeping your customer interested in your Website

There are a number of additions that you can make to your website that will not only attract potential customers, but also hold them on your website ...

Click here to read more on improving online sales and keeping your customers interested at Fresh Thinking Business

Sep 26, 2006, The 5 ingredients you absolutely need for success

You need five ingredients for success:

1. An idea for a product or service that customers are willing to buy at a sufficiently high price to allow for a big margin above cost.
2. The ability to produce the product or service.
3. Personal contacts for acquiring information and other resources.
4. Money to keep the business going during the start-up phase.
5. Sufficient customer orders to cover all costs and expenses and to provide a profit.

Click here to read this article in full at Fresh Thinking Business Free Article section

Sep 26, 2006, Dotcom revival

After the dotcom disaster in 2000, where Bill Gates saw his personal fortune drop $30 billion in six hours, people believed that the golden days of Internet riches were surely gone for good.

Six years on and the dotcom is back! A whole new generation of online businesses are rising from the proverbial ashes.

Taking the online route is still the cheapest and most simple way of starting up a business. The difference second time round, is that people are concentrating on making money without the risk taking and experimentation from before.

Studies have shown that being online makes marketing a lot more effective and is probably the most effective way of increasing your customer base.

So what are the basic secrets of dotcom success? According to business consultant NM Maravilla, author of the best-selling Online Marketing, there are three vital rules:

• Make sure your website gives customers what they are looking for. Is it customer-friendly? Studies show that up to 30 per cent of potential clients will log off if the site if the site is too slow or too complicated.
• Customer service is even more important than competitive pricing when attracting dotcom business. This should be constantly monitored and improved.
• Focus on getting tje basics right. Satisfied customers lead to referrals and a referral, particularly word of mouth, is still the cheapest and most effective way to extend your customer base.

"Small businesses can thrive in ecommerce and more than hold their own with the big boys, so long as they remember that on the internet customers rule."

"A dotcom can have all the money and technical know-how in the world but, take it from me, it will surely fail if it doesn't serve its customers well."