Do you know why some people are hesitant to use social media? Or perhaps why some people will absolutely never give out their email address (but are quick to hand over their phone number)? Or perhaps did you ever wonder why not everyone you meet will be immediately willing to put you in touch with everybody they know?

Your network, and the strength of relationships with people in your network, is one of your most valuable assets. A network of followers, friends, business contacts, colleagues, and clients is by no means a commodity. Therefore, it is not something you should take for granted. Continue reading ...

Keith F. Luscher is author of the book Prospect & Flourish, and is a Marketing Representative with Principal Financial Group. Prior to joining Principal, he served professionals in the insurance and financial services industries as a management consultant. In that role, he advised producers on issues related to marketing and prospecting, and developed groundbreaking educational curriculum. Luscher is also a nationally known author, speaker, and expert in media, interpersonal communication and marketing.

Posted by Candice Arnold on October 29, 2009 at 7:06 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

This is a pro blogger speaking. I'm a blogger who has spent many, many hours figuring out "blogging". I've partially cracked the code and I'm literally sharing some of the basic secrets here with you. I'm doing a test as well as giving some knowledge for you today. Please read on, you'll benefit.

It's a common thing to hear about success stories on profitable blogs these days.. Some generate amounts of up to $100,000/month and beyond. Profitable they are. You as a blog owner probably need to do a few things differently in order to get the most out of your internet marketing techniques and take a few steps to increase search engine rankings, make more money and have it run on autopilot.

What I've found is that creating a traffic pulling blog is more than just about getting search engine rankings. You need more... See... Blogs are so easily syndicated using RSS and tools such as RSS submit to get your website spread like wildfire in just one go. This is no news... This isn't any news either, but you want to "deep link" your blog posts and have strictly defined anchor texts. Continue reading ...

Article by, S and courtesy of Associated Content, Inc.

Posted by Candice Arnold on October 23, 2009 at 8:32 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Starting your new business will challenge you in ways that you can't even imagine. If you don't have experience in marketing, then you will need to be a quick study. Marketing is all about sales. If you opened the doors and people flooded in wanting your product or service, then you wouldn't need to market at all. However, based on personal experience with failed businesses, I can pinpoint the exact problem. I didn't have customers, because I didn't know how to market.

But I learned a few tricks here and there about marketing that can make your job as an entrepreneur a little bit easier. The first trick is to link every effort to revenue. If you place an ad in the paper you need to track, how many people called you for your product. If it isn't working, there isn't any point in wasting more money on an ad that isn't getting you any new business. So you might as well take that money and find a better use for it. Continue reading ...

Article by, Ryan Barnes and courtesy of Associated Content, Inc.

Posted by Candice Arnold on October 23, 2009 at 8:20 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Helping Finance and Marketing See Eye to Eye

Just like the 'cat and mouse' relationship, there has always been known friction between a company's marketing and finance departments primarily on account of marketing spend. Marketing after all spends money to make money so to speak. There is then an occurrence of natural polarity, marketing and finance usually gravitating towards opposite sides. In the past I have been hounded by one finance person after another seeking explanation as to why I spend this much in marketing, how I spend it and where are the returns.

Now in order to make ends meet with Finance, there has to be first - mutual respect. I have the highest respect for a number of finance professionals. I have grown my own analytics section in the marketing department just so there is straightforward and clear communication. One of the main proponents to instill is not just peace but understanding to explain that we are all on the same side with adherence to the same company goals. To achieve this, communication is vital. However this communication shouldn't just be peripheral or meaningless chatter, but instead purposeful conversations that exchange ideas and transfer knowledge. May it be a debate, argument or what-have-you - it is very important that a routine dialog be maintained by both parties to arrive at agreements, directions and decisions. This though should be supplemented by plans, documentations and carefully crafted strategies. Continue reading ...

Article by, Athena Catedral and courtesy of Associated Content, Inc.

Posted by Candice Arnold on October 22, 2009 at 8:13 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Of course it is impossible to generalize an entire generation, but basic demographic information is extremely necessary if you want to market toward a target audience. Marketing is a difficult art. The ability to pinpoint your target audience and use their generalizations to help your marketing strategy is very important for any would-be marketer.

About Generation Y

Generation Y consists of people born between the years 1977 and 1994. They are the generation of e-commerce and Britney Spears. A complex, extremely diverse group, those born in Generation Y exist to consume. They are materialistic, but not so much that they don't pay special attention and respond to particular advertising strategies.

Generation Y is probably one of the most difficult groups to both categorize and market toward. They are second only to their parents, the baby boomers, in terms of diversification in their buying tendencies. Continue reading ...

Article by, Sara Malarchy and courtesy of Associated Content, Inc.

Posted by Candice Arnold on October 22, 2009 at 8:05 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Don't get this headline wrong. I think Twitter is great, and use it myself. Often described as a "mini-blog," Twitter is a social networking tool that uses the SMS text protocol (short messaging service) designed for mobile phones (which explains the 140-character limit). Twitter was originally conceived to allow a user to broadcast these messages to a group of subscribers, or in this case, "followers." It has grown to become one of the most popular web applications in the world.

Twitter is free and only takes minutes to set up an account. The first objective of most Twitter users (called "peeps," among other expressions, but that's my favorite) is to get followers. At the same time, you will likely seek out other peeps to follow, ideally based upon a common interest, industry, profession, location, other connections, etc. These factors are typically indicated in your profile. You will also be sending out "tweets" (message posts) that relate to what you do and those like interests of your prospective followers and clients. Such messages should also have keywords included so that potential followers will find you in their searches. Continue reading ...

Keith F. Luscher is author of the book Prospect & Flourish, and is a Marketing Representative with Principal Financial Group. Prior to joining Principal, he served professionals in the insurance and financial services industries as a management consultant. In that role, he advised producers on issues related to marketing and prospecting, and developed groundbreaking educational curriculum. Luscher is also a nationally known author, speaker, and expert in media, interpersonal communication and marketing.

Posted by Candice Arnold on October 14, 2009 at 7:26 AM | Leave a Comment (1)

Do you ever encounter another person who just seems to know everybody? (As you read this, each of you is probably thinking of a name and a face right now!) It's not that all the people they know are clients of theirs, or even their best friend for that matter. Yet they have an uncanny knack for making acquaintances and forming connections with people they meet. Continue reading ...

Keith F. Luscher is author of the book Prospect & Flourish, and is a Marketing Representative with Principal Financial Group. Prior to joining Principal, he served professionals in the insurance and financial services industries as a management consultant. In that role, he advised producers on issues related to marketing and prospecting, and developed groundbreaking educational curriculum. Luscher is also a nationally known author, speaker, and expert in media, interpersonal communication and marketing.

Posted by Candice Arnold on October 2, 2009 at 12:55 PM | Leave a Comment (0)