How to Create a QR Code in 4 Quick Steps
"Really? We're talking about QR codes?" Fair reaction. For a few years now, QR codes have been one of the technologies at the center of the popular "___ is dead" trope we marketers love to argue. We've even debated it ourselves on this blog. So this post is to help marketers who are interested in experimenting with QR codes, anyway. To learn more about how to create and use QR codes effectively, download our free guide to QR codes here. How Do QR Codes Work? QR Codes, short for "quick response" codes, are little black and white squiggly barcodes that usually look something like this: (I say "usually" because they can be different colors and shapes, but you get the picture.) Originally designed in Japan for the automotive industry, marketers adopted the barcodes because of their large storage capacity and ability to translate additional information to consumers beyond what creative and/or packaging could convey. How to Create a QR Code 1) Select a QR code generator. 2) Design and link it up.
Building Your Brand on a Shoestring Budget in 10 Steps - Inspiration Center
Building Your Brand on a Shoestring Budget 10 big ideas that will help your brand grow and grow Attract New Customers with Automated Local Citations Make technology work for you and go focus on what matters most 5 Keys to a Successful Nonprofit Megan from Copper's Dream shares some important lessons
Attract New Customers with Automated Local Citations - Inspiration Center
Building Your Brand on a Shoestring Budget 10 big ideas that will help your brand grow and grow Attract New Customers with Automated Local Citations Make technology work for you and go focus on what matters most 5 Keys to a Successful Nonprofit Megan from Copper's Dream shares some important lessons
It’s time to start planning for Christmas. Yes, really.
They may say Christmas gets earlier every year, but if you run a business, now is the time to start thinking about the festive season. In fact, Selfridges opened its Christmas department back in August, so in some ways you’re already behind. To help get your business ready for Christmas 2014, here are four key things you can start doing now. 1. Begin planning Christmas marketing activity If Christmas is peak sales time for your business, you’ll want to get as many people as possible to choose you over your competitors. A well-thought out marketing strategy will keep your company in the minds of customers, but for it to work you need to do more than just repeat ‘Christmas’ for three months. To make sure your campaign doesn’t grow stale, you can come up with a set of marketing stories. Give yourself time to prepare and book advertising, particular where lead times are longer – as with print ads. 2. Plan ahead to cope with the internet’s festive shopping season. 3. 4. Happy Christmas, indeed.
Ask Drayton
"Business owners - what keeps you awake at night? Whatever it is - I'd like to help" "Have you ever left a restaurant wondering why you ordered so much? I know I have. You order with good intentions - but you literally can't fit in everything you'd like to. A lot like life, really. Over the years, I've created a huge amount of marketing material: videos, PDFs, case studies and Q&As. I’m hugely biased, naturally. But it all went wrong because of one disastrous factor I had overlooked: lack of time. Lots of people subscribed. Some poor souls paid happily each month and never logged in - a classic case of other people's money - like their bosses' - I suspect. In my younger days, I would have been perfectly happy with this arrangement. So I wondered what I could do. Give it all away perhaps? Lower the price? Short on time? But there's a much bigger problem: the thorny issue of subscribers actually using what's in there. Well, that seemed obvious to me as well. So you really can dip in and dip out. 1.
What Does the Color of Your Logo Say About Your Business? (Infographic)
Close your eyes and picture McDonald's famous golden arches. Now, imagine if they had been gray. Would the burger chain be the international success it is today? The color of some logos is more powerful than the logos themselves -- think the red of Coca-Cola or the pink of Barbie or the rainbow colors of Google. Related Video: When Designing a Logo, First Comes Personality, Then Color Color can become a key part of any brand. Check out the infographic below to figure out exactly what your logo's colors are telling potential customers. Related: How to Say 'I'm the Best' Without Actually Saying It Click to Enlarge+
The small business owner's guide to selling online
Being able to sell online is a really important string to your small business bow, and it’s only going to get more important in future. eCommerce is a term that sounds a bit technical and can put people off, but all it means is being able to sell your product or service online, accepting online payment for goods that people choose from the comfort of their own home. It doesn’t have to be scary, complicated, or expensive – here’s our no-nonsense guide to getting your business online! Why take your business online? Even when we were in recession, online spending kept rising. Now the worst is over, but the high street is still feeling the squeeze: not so for the Europe retail market, which grew by a whopping 20% last year, according to Visa. Common fears Before we go any further, let’s take a look at some misconceptions that often put small business owners off taking their business online. How does an online shop work? You need three basic things to get started. Setting up your online shop
Are Floatation Tanks AKA 'Adult-Sized Wombs' The Key To Perfect Meditation And Stress Relief?
Even the most dedicated meditators can find it difficult to find a spot that's calm, quiet and distraction free. So it's not that surprising that as meditation has grown in popularity in recent years, so has the use of floatation tanks. Dubbed 'adult-sized wombs', the tanks aim to provide the ultimate sensory deprivation experience. For those uninitiated, floatation tanks are essentially pitch-black, enclosed bath tubs. They contain salt-water about 25cm deep that is the temperature of the body (35.5°C). The tanks are designed to aid relaxation. Although the tanks have been around since the 1950s they have become far more popular in the last 18 months. Tim Strudwick has been running the world's largest floatation centre, The Floatworks since 1993. He puts the rise in popularity of floatation tanks down to the public's dissatisfaction with the fast pace of modern day life. Celebrity attention may have also boosted the reputation of floatation tanks. H/T: Mashable Close
Tim Campbell's 12 steps to running a business - part 2
by Tim Campbell MBE Updated: Jan 23, 2015 Published: Jan 15, 2015 Earlier this week former Apprentice winner Tim Campbell MBE shared the first three of his 12 tips to start and run a business. Here, he continues with tips four to six. 4. Entrepreneurialism – Have you got the qualities to succeed? There’s no perfect set of characteristics to be successful in business. So ask yourself, ‘Do I have what it takes?’ Discipline and routine - Can you make a plan and then follow it through? This is a long list of attributes and it would be unusual for any single person to answer ‘yes’ to all of these. 5. Once you have worked out what your business proposition is, you will need to clearly identify who your audience is. Assuming you have a product or service that you’re confident there is demand for, you then need to think about who is going to buy it. One way of identifying your audience is to run market research. You can also conduct market research by using online surveys. 6.
