Pelland Advertising Newsletter

July 1, 2008

It Sure Seems Like Summer to Me!

Welcome to the early Summer edition of the Pelland Advertising newsletter. I have so many ideas to share this time around that I am certain that this will be our best newsletter yet, jam-packed with ideas that you can immediately implement to increase your online visibility and resulting business. You will find valuable information about new local directory sites, free software tools, and thoughts on Web 2.0. Please let me know if you have any questions that you would like to see covered in future installments of this newsletter. Turn on the air conditioning and get reading!

Are You Listed On These Sites?

If you followed my advice in the June 2008 newsletter, you have installed Google Alerts to notify you of any new inbound links to your website. You may be surprised to discover that there are a growing number of sites which compile local directories from public information. This is fine, as long as you are aware of the listings and have confirmed that the information which they have compiled is up-to-date and accurate. In many instances, you will be given the opportunity to easily edit your listing or even add content (such as keywords and a link to your website). Some of these sites are run as wikis and will allow you to login and edit content on any listings where you might find errors or omissions. In each case, search for your business listing. If it is already listed (as is probably the case), follow the links to edit your listing; if it is not listed, follow the links to add it now.

CitySquares
This is a new directory which shows all businesses within a city or town.
Website links are not included at this time.
http://citysquares.com/

GoMyLocal
A new online Yellow Pages directory. Still in Beta and has a few bugs.
Will try to charge you for options such as a link to your site. Update your free listing.
http://www.gomylocal.com/

Manta

The most important of the new directory sites that I'm covering today is Manta. The new Manta website contains business listings which have been compiled from Dun & Bradstreet data. Literally every legitimate business is listed in this directory, and the inbound link to your site from this directory will enhance your own website’s search engine ranking. Click here for an online tutorial that will guide you through the process of editing (or adding) your Manta listing. Basically, you will do a search for your business (by name), click on the correct result link, then review your listing. Click on the “Is This Your Company?” link to the right of your address or the link that says “Add to Company Profile”. You will need to register or login in order to submit new data, including the activation of a link to your company’s Web address. Some of the D&B generated information may still be inaccurate, and you are likely to be called by a Dun & Bradstreet salesperson, but you will be able to submit corrected information that will be added to your company profile.

http://www.manta.com/

Free Security Software

If you are running a computer network (or even a single, standalone computer) without a comprehensive security software, you must also like driving without wearing a seatbelt, wrestling alligators, and smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. With the free online security tools from Trend Micro, you can’t even use the cost of the software as an excuse. First of all, Trend Micro’s House Call is a free application for checking whether your computer has been infected by viruses, spyware, or other malware. In addition, Trend Micro’s new RUBotted (in Beta) monitors your computer for suspicious activities and regularly checks with an online service to identify behavior associated with Bots. Bots are malicious software that can secretly take control of computers and make them participate in networks called “Botnets.” These networks can harness massive computing power and Internet bandwidth to relay spam, attack web servers, infect more computers, and perform other illicit activities. Security experts believe that millions of computers have already joined Botnets without the knowledge of their owners. By using remotely-controlled computers, the criminals in charge of the Botnets try to remain anonymous and elude authorities seeking to prosecute them. RUBotted will run in the background to prevent intrusions into your computer network. Run them both, if for no other reason than to secure the peace of mind from knowing that your computers are clean.

Do You Know How to Send Large Files?

Please do not tell me you are using e-mail attachments to send large files. E-mail was never intended to handle large files, making it a terribly inefficient way to send large graphics and similar files. In fact, including large file attachments with your e-mail is a good way of getting your e-mail blocked by many ISP's (both at the incoming and the outgoing ends). The proper way to send large files is through FTP (file transfer protocol), which is an essential component of the Internet which remains unfamiliar to many Web users. Sending files via FTP requires the use of an FTP server and FTP client software. This is easy enough for the technically inclined; however, if it all sounds intimidating to you, help is on the way!

There are several excellent free online services which serve as third-party FTP servers. You simply login, upload the file from your computer (probably .zipped first), and enter the e-mail address of your intended file recipient. As soon as the files are uploaded, your recipient will receive an e-mail notification that includes a link to where he or she can download your file. It's as simple as that (although, if your files are really large, a broadband Internet connection will help).

Two sites that I have used and recommend are SendThisFile.com and YouSendIt.com. Give them a try!

Are You Making Web 2.0 Work for You?

As you probably know, there is an ever-increasing plethora of “Review” websites that feature consumer-generated content. Several of these sites probably include reviews of your business, and Google Alerts will keep you posted regarding any new posts, whether they appear on conventional websites or blogs. Although it is important to be aware of what others are saying about your business, it is equally important to take a proactive stance in getting positive comments posted that will present your business in a favorable light. Guess what? If you are not doing it, your competitors are.

Let me provide some actual examples involving my own personal experience as both a user and a reviewer on TripAdvisor.com. A few years ago, my wife and I took a vacation in California. During the course of our travels, we stayed at a B&B one night that was voted on another review site as having the “best breakfast” anywhere in the country. I like breakfast, so staying there was a no-brainer, right? Not necessarily. My opinion in the morning was that the breakfast was no better than average; however, before we were done eating, the owners passed out index cards with the Web address of the site that had them listed as having that “best breakfast”, asking everybody to go online and to vote for their B&B and their breakfast. I declined the invitation to be a part of their continuing ruse. More recently, my wife and I vacationed on Cape Cod and stayed at a guest house that TripAdvisor had rated as the #1 B&B in Provincetown. We chose this property on the basis of its rating, in preference to other properties that were right on the water. We were not disappointed with our stay. Two or three weeks later, we received a thank you note in the mail, including a request to post any favorable comments at TripAdvisor. Although I did not take the time to post comments (partially because it had been too long since our stay, and I could not recall enough of the details), I did not feel like I had been misled in the least by TripAdvisor’s #1 ranking. The owners of this property were simply making Web 2.0 work for them!

More recently, I was one of a group of 10 people who dined at a restaurant in Greenport, Long Island. Again, this restaurant was rated as the #1 restaurant out of 40 in Greenport, according to TripAdvisor. We had a horrible (and expensive) dining experience. In this instance, I took the time to write a review at TripAdvisor, hoping to prevent others from having the same bad experience. As a result of my review, the restaurant is now rated as the #2 restaurant in Greenport, rather than #1. Although I would have liked to see them dropped down more than one notch, this is the power of Web 2.0 from the consumer perspective! (Want to read my review? Click here. Aren’t I the kind of customer you would want to keep happy?)

What does this all mean for your business? Take charge ... and do not disappoint your customers. If you are involved with any sort of survey or comments program, or are aware of websites than post consumer reviews of businesses within your industry, be proactive. Ask your most satisfied customers to share their impressions online, providing them with the Web address(es) of the review site(s), clearly printed, at their time of departure or point of sale. Better yet, send them an e-mail immediately afterward (while their experience is still fresh in their minds), with a hyperlink to the review page.

Does Your Logo Need Some New Life?

There are times when our clients have either no logo or a logo that is so bad that it is begging to be replaced. You know what those look like. They were often hand-drawn 15 or 20 years ago, with the only digital versions being made from scans of poorly printed pieces made from third-generation artwork. In other instances, a somewhat tired old logo can get a breath of new life given the right tools and talents. Here are examples of actual logos that had been recently used by two of our clients, followed by the versions which we rebuilt, and links to the clients’ websites, showing those rebuilt logos taken to the next level with Flash animation. If you have a logo that needs a fresh start, put us to work!

Click here to visit the Motion Automotive website to view the animated Flash version.

Click here to visit the Pine Grove Cottages website to view the animated Flash version.

Reward Posted!

I hope that your Summer is going well. We are all experiencing some economic uncertainties with the price of oil going through the roof, along with the prices of everything else that depends on oil. With that in mind, we have doubled up our efforts to bring in new work, and we are asking for your help. If you know of another business (of just about any type ... we are surprisingly diversified!) that could benefit from our services, please ask them to give us a call, mentioning your name. If a Web or print project of any nature (excluding postcards and business cards) materializes as a result of your referral, we will post a $200.00 credit to your account. Your credit can be applied to ANY of our services ... even the equivalent of 8 months of standard website hosting service. Send us two referrals; get two credits. You get the idea. Like the innkeepers in California and on Cape Cod, we're asking you to share your experience. In this case, we will all benefit. Thanks!

That's it for this month’s installment. As always, I hope that you find these newsletters to be a helpful source of new ideas. If you find this information to be useful, please forward a copy to your friends and business associates so that they may subscribe. Thanks!.