Small Business Design Resources

Take Advantage of Local Search Marketing

If you did a survey of people walking down the street and asked them “How do you find a business when you need one?” Many of them are going to say they use the internet. More people are looking up services through the web than flipping through the prehistoric yellow pages. The thing is: you can take advantage of local search marketing and apply it to your small business design without being “out of date.”

If you’re familiar with Google Maps, you may already be aware that if you type “Seafood, Miami FL” into Google’s search engine, a map of the Miami area will appear with a list of restaurants or vendors that specialize in seafood. That’s what local marketing can do for you. When you put your company’s information into Google Places, you’re making it easier for people in your area to find you. You can apply this information to not only Google search engines, but the other major ones as well.

Not convinced it will help drive traffic to your site?

Approximately 20% of Google searches are associated with location. Based on reports from Google itself: The Google Place sections are viewed millions of times each day. By not putting your company contact information, website and other miscellaneous data, you’re missing out on potentially millions of people who could stumble across your website. Local search marketing or “optimization” is just as an important small business practice as the SEO you use on your website.

There are features available specifically through Google Places that can help small business improve their search-ability. You can pay for Tags: Tags come with a $25 price tag per month and promote business features your company is offering. These are currently only available in certain cities, but expanding quickly. So if you want to use Google Tags for your company and your location isn’t listed, it may be shortly.

Google also can send a photographer to your business and offer a free, professional photo shoot. You’re not guaranteed to have a session, but you browse the available locations and apply. If you’re not in one of the major US cities that offers these free photo sessions, take your own photos and upload them to Google Places by yourself.

So, when you implement local search marketing strategies to your small business design, you’re helping to increase traffic to your website by at least 20% (according to Google). Besides a good-looking company website and a well-written blog, it’s one of the simplest ideas to apply to your business to get results.

Professional Website Design: Is It Worth The Investment?

For a small business, every dollar counts. You think long and hard before you spend – and that’s the way it should be. But while there are certainly many unnecessary expenses that you should avoid, or cut from your budget, professional Web design is not one of them. Here are the reasons:

You Need A Strong Online Identity

As a long-term strategy, you want to separate yourself from the crowd and have your own online identity. You should have a unique logo, a unique website, and unique business cards. If you use do-it-yourself Web design templates, you may be saving money in the short term, but you are hurting your business’ chances of leaving an impression. Don’t let your business look just like thousands of other businesses. The right design can make the difference between a struggling business and a smashing hit.

Professional Web Design CAN Be Affordable

Many small business owners mistakenly assume that they simply cannot afford small business website design. But this is untrue. You should find a designer who specializes in Web design for small businesses because this type of designer will be more sensitive to your budget constraints than Web designers who typically work with corporations. In addition, you should realize that you can start with a very small website, which would cost considerably less – all you need are a few Web pages and a strong design. You can always add more pages and functions later, as your business grows and your budget expands.

Built-In Search Engine Optimization

I’ve seen countless websites that were built by their owners using a template and that are not optimized for search engines. This means that no one is going to find these websites! Typically, after a few months, they realize that they keep working on their website, adding content and tweaking the design, but it’s all worthless because their website does not appear in search engine results. A good Web designer will make sure that your site is optimized for search engines, and will also make sure that the design elements are light enough that the site loads fast – people on the Web are impatient with slow-loading sites. In fact, Google has recently announced that it now incorporates website load time as part of its ranking system.

Save Time, Save Money

Your time is worth money. The time you spend on fiddling with your website design could be spent doing something else – something more productive, something you know how to do such as growing your business. You may think that you are “saving” money by not hiring a professional to do your Web design. But are you really saving if it means long hours of working on your site design, hours that never translate into the visual image you have in mind, simply because you’re not a professional? In today’s complex world, it makes sense for each of us to do what we specialize in. For you it means growing your business, and letting design professionals take care of your website design.

Small Business Profile: Kisha Kingston, Royale Amethyst Invitations, LLC

(646) 552-7015	contact via email			RoyalAmethystLLC.com

Tell us your story of why and how you decided to start your own business.
It all began in December 2008, when I had the opportunity to plan my sister’s winter themed bridal shower. After unsuccessful attempts to find the right stationery for the occasion, I decided to get creative and design my very own. End result, a satisfied bride-to-be and the birth of a new venture.

Shortly after, I started promoting my services to friends, family and co-workers which resulted in me being the “go-to” person for their event stationery needs. Within months my services were requested for baptisms, baby showers, weddings and small business branding. It was the success of these past orders that led me to continue on the path of event stationery and start my own business. Deciding the name for the business was quite simple and personal. I decided to use her birthstone, Amethyst, and the royalty that the stone represents, hence the name Royale Amethyst Invitations.

How would your customers describe your business?
My clients would describe my business as being full of quality, service and creativity.

Client Comments:

• I have to tell you the first word that comes to mind when I think of “Royale Amethyst Invitations” is…. Wow !! The young lady who is the brains behind this company is Fabulous, she knew exactly where I was going for my Jewelry party invitations it was as if she was in my head thinking what I was thinking…the finished product literally took my breath away….my invitations were simply “FAB” –Kurt W.

• Thanks to ROYALE AMETHYST Invitations! My invitations for my sister’s baby shower were the least of my worries. The service I received was very professional yet friendly. I recommend ROYALE AMETHYST INVITATIONS to anyone wanting the best stationery. Thx – Onica B.

What’s unique about your business, how do you differ from your competitors?
My business is all about service and my clients can attest to receiving personal service from conception to completion of their order. I take into account their vision when designing custom stationery and with strong attention to detail I am capable of bringing their vision to life. When I am designing I always think “outside of the box”.

What’s your most popular product?
I would have to say the Pocket invitation because it is more elegant and looks great with add-ons including ribbons, feathers and embellishments.

How do you market your business?
I market my business through social media. I am very active on Twitter, Facebook and my Blog. I also post my business information on wedding sites such as Wedding Wire, Project Wedding and Bridal Tweet.

What role does your website play in your business?
My website plays as the main source of information for Royale Amethyst Invitations. My clients will find important information such as my biography, frequently asked questions, social media links and photo gallery. My website is my online business card and resume.

What would you say to small businesses who currently don’t have a website or have neglected it?
A website is a necessity for anyone conducting business. It is the main place your clients will go to gain more knowledge about your company and what it has to offer. Similar to how an invitation sets the tone for an event, a website with proper maintenance does the same for your business.

Anything additional you want to tell us about your business that we don’t know yet?
Since the launch of Royale Amethyst Invitations, I was nominated and won the 2010 Twinkie Award for Best Social Media Marketing Campaign. My company is also privileged to have clientele that exclusively uses my custom invitations to send to the offices of local politicians as well as the White House.

Keeping Your Emails Out of Spam Folders

Spam filters are great at keeping unwanted emails from filling up our inboxes. However, sometimes important emails are caught up in the filter, sending them to the spam folder to possibly never be seen by their recipient. You can’t always rely on your patrons to add your email to their “safe” list, but why should your updates and newsletters be unfairly cast to the junk folder? There are ways you can cleverly word your emails to make sure they’re making it through.

The best thing you can do to avoid spam filters is to steer clear of some of the major phrasing that these bots are looking for. These would be things like “click here” or “free offer.” These gimmicky phrases raise red flags. Also, watch your punctuation. You might be really excited about an offer you’re sending to your patrons, but if you use ALL CAPS WITH MULTIPLE EXCLAMATION POINTS…you might just wind up in the spam folder!!!!!!!! What about HTML in your emails? HTML is fine to include, but be sure to do it right. Don’t use too much Red or Green font colors either.

Messy coding often gets confused as spam. Don’t use programs like Microsoft Word to convert text to HTML. Often, large graphics or pictures with very little wording will not pass a spam filter, so make sure you’ve got plenty of text to accompany any visual media. Take a look at your junk inbox. You may notice a lot of online pharmaceutical emails boasting that you can buy online for cheap. Not only are these often scams that end up with identity theft and loss of funds, they’re usually pretty poorly written. Spam bots look for misspellings in the subject line as well as wording in the body of the email. These drug emails usually have a lot of prices listed. The over-mentioning of prices usually marks an email as spam.

Newsletters are a great part of your small business design, so don’t be detoured from creating them as part of your marketing system. Just be smart when you’re sending out newsletters or other promotional emails and you’ll be sure to pass the spam bot’s criteria. An honest email with proper spelling, html and subject lines will most likely make it through to your client’s inbox.

Double Up: Online and Offline Marketing Techniques

We all know how important marketing strategies are to our small business design. Many of us are still learning the best ways to market our businesses without draining our bank accounts. Online marketing has been one of the best ways to get businesses out into the public eye. This is your website, your blog and all your social network accounts that drive that traffic towards your website. It’s fast, cheap and easy to change when necessary. But what about offline marketing techniques? Offline marketing often gets pushed to the back burner because of time constraints, lack of funding or just not knowing what to do. Let’s talk about some offline marketing strategies that are easy on time and finances.

Business Cards are the simplest offline marketing tools you can have for your business. You can get a lot of cards for very little cash. Make them unique and hand them out often. If you frequent a business, ask them if you can leave a couple on their counter and offer to take a few of their cards as well. Consider making your card double as a coupon. The backs of business cards are usually blank, but you can have a coupon for your services printed so the space goes un-wasted. You can also affix a magnet to the back and behold—people will see your logo every time they go to the refrigerator.

Local Fairs can be a great way to meet new clients. If your business is a good fit, consider renting a booth and spend a few hours marketing your small business to people in your community. You’ll get the chance to meet people that may have never known about your business and in return, you might find people providing services you could use as well. You can even talk to others who own small businesses and trade services, while helping promote each other.

Be a walking advertisement. Put your logo on everything. Make company shirts and wear them in public. Get large magnetic bumper stickers with your company information and website address and stick it to your car. Get pens with your company information and website and leave them when you sign in at the gym, sign credit card receipts or fill out paperwork at the doctor’s office. People will always use pens and love to get freebees, so carry a few on you at all times.

Online marketing and offline marketing are equally important for gaining new clients. So, make sure you log onto your social network sites, update your blog and get out there and physically promote your company within your community. Including a healthy mix of marketing strategies into your small business design will bring about the results you’ve been looking for.