Email Marketing Tips For Small Business 

By Samuel M Stone 

Email has been around since the early days of the internet and despite that some marketers claim that email marketing is dying - in my experience and opinion it is alive and kicking. Marketing with email is very powerful for a small business, it allows you to communicate with your clients far better than any advertising message can and it is extremely cost effective:

Email Marketing Tips For Small Business Number 1

Subject Line: The subject line is perhaps the most important factor when marketing with email, if your subject line doesn't entice your reader your email will not get opened and therefore your message or promotion will fall on deaf ears.

Some things to remember when crafting a compelling subject line, make it curious, think short and sweet.

Email Marketing Tips For Small Business Number 2

Build Relationships: Marketing with email is great for making money; however you shouldn't be trying to sell something in every email you sent out. You want to communicate with your clients in a way it builds trust, provide them value with free advice, tips, etc this way your readers look forward to reading your emails - which means a higher open rate.

When crafting your emails it is a good idea to pretend you are writing an email to your good friend and not a group of people. This is make the email seem more personal, and not from a corporate voice.

Email Marketing Tips For Small Business Number 3

Segment your database: Many businesses have a list of 10 of thousands or people on their list, some of these people are past customers, some active customers, some just shown an interest, etc. You want to make sure your segment your email list into different groups and then only send each group relevant messages.

Email Marketing Tips For Small Business Number - Summary & Extra Tips

These are just some of the many tips you must follow in order to get the most out of your email marketing, however this article couldn't be complete without some of these extra tips:

Test and measure - test one subject line against another, test one P.S against another, test your offer, etc.

Social media - marketing with email doesn't just stop with your email list, you should also be building a list in your social networking sites, like Facebook. Many marketers are raving about the high open rates when sending an email though a Facebook profile.

If you would like to learn more ways you can effectively market your small business on the internet, and then make sure to visit Internet marketing small business

Also Discover The 3 Reasons Why Most Small Businesses Struggle To Generate Customers On The Internet! And Learn Strategies That When Implemented The Average Company Gets Between 10 And 100 New Clients - Very Fast! Watch our free eye-opening video presentation [http://onlinemarketingsecrets.net/].

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Optimize Your Email Campaign: Free Guide Available

Optimization is about making something more effective. When it comes to email marketing, you want to have the most effective campaign possible. High conversion rates, opens, clicks, traffic back to your website and sales are all important.
Fortunately, there are some best practices you can follow that have proven to work for others.
- See more by clicking this link to the Aweber email software website:

http://www.aweber.com/blog/guides/optimize-your-email-campaign?390040

How to Write High Converting Emails - 9 Email Marketing Tips to Follow

By Jeremy A Gislason 

There are many do's and don'ts when it comes to learning how to write high converting emails. Unlike the kind of emails you send to your friends, co-workers and business associates, high converting emails aren't always addressed to someone you know personally or even recognize by face at all. Most of the time, these emails are simply broadcasted to a list of email addresses with no faces.

However, there are some things you can learn from sending regular emails that you can apply to these marketing emails. Read on to find out how to write high converting emails.

Email Marketing Tip # 1: Be Friendly.

As you would a friend, adopt a relaxed and pleasant tone in your emails. You may not be aiming to develop a close friendship with the recipients, but you're still aiming to form a trusted relationship with them. Besides, being friendly gives your otherwise professional email a personality, a face.

Email Marketing Tip # 2: But Not Too Friendly.

Of course, you shouldn't go overboard with the niceness either. Some people might interpret that as being pushy or aggressive. And as far as marketing emails go, becoming a little pushy automatically marks you as spam.

Avoid making your letter sound too much like a love confession. Try not to sound desperate when attempting to get people to buy a certain product. Start with a friendly greeting then state the facts and what they can get out of the deal.

Email Marketing Tip # 3: Be Wary of HTML emails.

While sending an html email (with graphics) sounds like a good idea, it's actually not quite as advisable. Some email programs don't really support html email properly (or at all), while a few may filter them out as spam.

And if your message turns out looking a little less like it's supposed to be, then you've just made yourself and the product you're representing look somewhat incompetent. Being perceived as incompetent (even though it's not true) almost always translates to untrustworthy in the minds of customers.

After all, you can't exactly point your finger at the email program or blame your recipient's slow Internet connection. Html email is risky and has proven itself to be more trouble than it's worth. To be sure, send out text emails.

Email Marketing Tip # 4: Capture Them with a Fine Subject Line.

Experienced Internet users can usually tell from the subject heading alone whether an email message is worth opening or not. While a very minor detail, it still has a large impact on your recipients. One look at your subject heading is all it takes for them to decide whether to click on it or to send it to the spam folder.

There are many ways to get a person's attention. Some like to insert a "you" in their subjects because it appeals to a person's basic instincts. Others like to start with a bang with controversial headlines.

Email Marketing Tip # 5: Be Specific When Addressing Your Recipient.

Opening your email with the phrase "to whom it may concern" is a big turn off. If you want to make a good impression right from the start, address them by their name.

Most autoresponders allow you to place a certain syntax, where the syntax is replaced by the subscriber's first name upon sending.

"Hello David" sounds a hundred times better than "to whom it may concern," don't you think?

Email Marketing Tip # 6: Keep It Short and Sweet.

Even though you have a rocking headline, keep your message brief yet informative. People don't exactly have a lot of time to read long messages (much less long messages from someone who's trying to sell them something). Besides, keeping it short and to the point makes them hunger for more information.

Email Marketing Tip # 7: Focus on the Benefits, Not the Features.

Sometimes, people don't realize just how much they can benefit from your product. Even if you list down all 100 of your product's amazing features, they'll still need a large arrow pointing which ones can benefit them personally.

To save them a lot of time (and to maintain their interest as well), zero in on how your product can help them lead a better life. If your product is an e-book that can help them earn additional income, for example, saying "find out how to earn big bucks in just seven minutes" ought to do the trick!

Email Marketing Tip # 8: Use Bullet Points.

Bullet points are your best friend. They help summarize what you intend to say in a just a few direct to the point lines. Using bullet points also helps you highlight the important benefits of purchasing your product.

Email Marketing Tip # 9: Earn Their Trust.

When writing emails, you also need to keep in mind that your recipients might belong to the huge group of Internet users who have been burned by spam before.

To help earn their trust, make sure you put relevant information about you and the product at the end of your message. Giving them a contact number or an email address they can direct their inquiries to also amps up your credibility factor.

Learning how to write high converting emails is easy and will prove to be quite profitable in the future! Take note of all the tips and tricks mentioned in this article so you won't have a hard time attracting your prospects.

Want to get free access to the best money-making affiliate strategies in one simple blueprint? Want to have "Set And Forget" Money Makers that will keep you earning long after you stop promoting them? Then get the affiliate marketing video mindmap package for free at http://www.webprofitplans.com

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FREE GUIDE TO USER FRIENDLY EMAILS:

To download an excellent free guide full of even more tips on writing effective, user friendly emails that will boost your conversion rates, click on the following link to Aweber the email marketing software specialists:

http://www.aweber.com/blog/guides/guide-to-user-friendly-email?390040

Opt-in Email Marketing Secrets

By Felix M.
Developing a targeted email list of subscribers that are responsive is a critical component of making money on-line. In fact, your ability generate and maximize profits from lucrative niches will depend largely on how effective you are at building that profitable email list.

However, the process of building your email marketing skills does not stop with collecting optin email addresses to market your products and services. In fact, this is only the beginning. There is a formula to success when it comes to email marketing. You must connect with your leads and prospects who have taken the step of giving you their contact information. Your number one priority is to provide massive value, get them to know you, trust you, and build a relationship with all of them.

This is the optin email marketing secret online marketers often miss. They setup a capture page, offer something of value to a visitor, and turns that visitor into a subscriber. Then, they proceed to bombard that subscriber with offers for products and services they should purchase.

The challenge is, that subscriber does not know you yet, and they will not buy. In fact, how can they buy if they do not know who you are, whether they should trust you and of how much value you will be to them. These may seem like obstacles, but they can easily be overcome through an autoresponder series that will help you build trust with your subscriber.

That is another secret. Every marketer probably knows; however, because it is simple to do, it is also simple not to do. So they miss it. Our job as marketers is to make sure we introduce who we are and the value the prospect will get by being a subscriber. They need to come to a point where they look forward to your emails.

When you establish that trust, either through your autoresponder series or a series of broadcast messages, only then can you move on to asking questions of your leads. Ask them what they want from you. What are their challenges? Why are they on your list? Find the answers to these questions and then offer solutions that will address the problems you have uncovered.

Optin email marketing is not difficult when you have a strategy in place that will allow you to build trust with your subscribers. Implement a strategy, and you will create a loyal list of subscribers itching to buy from you at a moment's notice.

Learn the optin email marketing and list building formula every online marketer should know (yes, including you). Just visit Superior List Building.

You can learn more about Felix at his blog: www.FelixMack.net

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Top Tips on Mobile Friendly Email Marketing

Tips on Mobile Friendly
Email Marketing

More and more people are using android phones and i-phones to check their emails. As business people using email marketing we need to make sure our messages get through and are easily read on these new devices. Have a look at these top tips for Mobile Friendly Email Marketing on the BizSkills2000-Simple-Email-Marketing website.

Mobile Email Marketing

Some great tips and issues to think about in this article about designing your email marketing campaigns to be suitable for reading on mobile devices.

Read more on our sister website:

http://bizskills2000-simple-email-marketing.webs.com/mobile-email-marketing

How to improve your emails and generate more website traffic

Just read a great little article on how to improve your marketing emails to drive more traffic to your websites and blogs.......

Visit our specialist website now for full details:

http://bizskills2000-simple-email-marketing.webs.com/email-marketing-tips

27 Top Money-Making Tips On Using Twitter For Marketing

The social networking phenomenon Twitter is so popular and so big that any business, particularly an internet based business, cannot afford to miss out on its potential as a great tool for marketing. Its tremendously valuable to marketers because of its capacity to target a specific audience and communicate with them in real time.

I've just posted a new article on How To Use Twitter As A Marketing Tool on the Biz Skills 2000 website, so please take a look and help yourself to a free download at  http://www.bizskills2000.co.uk/free-factsheets-how-you-can-start-your-own-business/  Let me know if you found it useful, and also send me your requests for factsheets in the future that would help your business andrew@bizskills2000.co.uk 

Also, take a look at our Home Study Business Course on "Tweeting For Profit: The Internet Marketers Guide To Success" available on our website at www.BizSkills2000.co.uk  

Making Your Business Appear Bigger

By Calum Macleod
How your business is perceived can make a big difference to its success. Appearing to be a large and successful business can help customers and clients trust your business and make them more eager to do business with you. Customers are more likely to trust a business that has been around for a long time and has previously served a lot of customers. It's a catch 22 that customers will trust successful businesses and that businesses need customers to first be a success.

Fear not though. There are ways to make your business appear like it is a large and successful company even before it is. Let's look at three ways to improve the impression that your company gives over to clients and customers.

1. Cover all points of contact

Every time a potential customer comes into contact with your business they should receive a consistent level of customer service and be exposed to your carefully constructed brand. If you call up a major retailer such as Tesco you will get an identical if not very similar response every time. If you visit the Tesco website you will be exposed to the same branding that you would come across in store and in the advertisements. Big business is consistent across many levels. That is what you need your business to live up to. Your contact centre should deliver a consistent and professional service whether it is staffed by 1 or ten receptionists.

2. Reviews

Once you get customers and clients make sure you make the most of them. Incite people to review your products or service. Nothing makes prospective customers and clients trust you more than seeing how well you have performed in the past. There are lots of sites where you can have reviews submitted to give you some independent validation. Don't be scared of negative reviews. Always ensure that you try to give the best service and reply to all negative criticism honestly and you'll do fine.

3. Association

If you can associate your business with success some of it can rub off. This can be a bit harder at the start when you have no actual large clients or associations to boast about but it's not impossible. You can sign up to official associations in your industry or offer to do something for free for big companies in return for being able to place their logo on your site.

There are lots of ways that a young company can compete. Your challenge is to make the best use of any advantage to you. To make your business more professional consider an outsourced call answering company.

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AWEBER Email Marketing Software Review

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Get the essential low down on Aweber Email Marketing Software from the review just posted on the Biz Skills 2000 website. Read what it can do power your online marketing campaigns to new levels of success! Visit http://www.bizskills2000.co.uk/free-factsheets-how-you-can-start-your-own-business/

Strategies to Keep Customers Coming Back to Do Business With You

By Jan Smith

There are many strategies to use to keep customers coming back to do business with you but the first one should always be honesty in all your dealings with them. Give them a good service or product at a fair price and never try to cheat them by 'putting one over' on them. People may not always be able to prove that you are or have cheated them, but many of them will know it instinctively.

Instinct is often an overlooked word in today's business environment but you ignore it at your loss.

Integrity in Business:

Integrity in the Oxford English Dictionary (circa 1964) is described as:

"integrity, n. Wholeness; soundness; uprightness, honesty. [ME, f. OF -te, or L integritas (integer, see-ty)]"

So basically it simply means honesty and wholeness in your business dealings or way of life. To live upright according to your word; and to deal with people in a sound, honest and wholesome way. This should always be your first strategy to keep customers coming back to do business with you.

Word of Mouth:

If you always follow the above strategy then good word of mouth (WOM) advertising will be given to you and this is advertising that you simply cannot, nor ever will be, able to buy. This is priceless and the very best advertising that you can ever have.

If someone a person knows recommends your business or service highly, then this acts as social proof that you are a legitimate and honest person to deal with. People always feel more comfortable dealing with someone that someone that they already know and trust, has recommended.

Quality Product:

There is absolutely no point in selling any product that you yourself, wouldn't use or recommend. This sounds too obvious a point but if you don't sell a product that offers good quality for the price being paid for it, then it can't be said to be a quality product.

Quality doesn't mean it has to be "gold standard". Most people, especially today on a very tight family budget, can't afford the "gold standard". What people today need is a quality product for a price that they can afford to pay, to do whatever the product is designed to do.

Quality Service:

Good service always starts with a friendly greeting. This is sometimes overlooked when people walk through your business door and you are busy or they arrive at an inconvenient time for you. People will always remember how they are treated long after the job is done.

Quality service involves more than a friendly greeting and a satisfactory job; it requires a relationship with your customer that can't be found anywhere else from someone providing a similar service to your own.

The above four principles of integrity, word of mouth, quality product and quality service will give any business in any industry, a firm foundation for a very profitable, long-term business well into the future.

All Business strategies today still depend on the basic foundations that have formed good business practices throughout time but today are often disregarded.

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Setting Up A Limited Company (Ltd) What Does It Mean?

By John T Hughes

Tired of being bamboozled by the term 'limited company'? As a freelancer or contractor, it is important to know the difference between working for an umbrella company or choosing to start up a Ltd company. Contractors, sole traders and limited companies are all different business mediums in which people chose to earn an income through. Choosing the best medium for you is a big decision and should be done through an independent advisor or a specialist contractor accountant.

Limited Company: Back To Basics

• A limited company is often shortened to the abbreviation Ltd, and usually appears after the company's name.
• Setting up a Ltd means that the business is owned by its shareholders, or that individual shareholders own a small portion of the business.
• A Ltd is known as having 'limited liability' structures in place. This is its first advantage. It means that if the company should fail, the shareholders of the company are not liable for its debts.
• Operating under a Ltd means investors or shareholders in the company can only lose the money they have invested and no more.
• Trading under a Ltd means that your personal and business finances are kept separate. This requires you to set up a bank account underneath the Ltd company's name. As a contractor or freelancer, the shareholder is normally simply the individual freelancer. You can however split the ownership between different people including family members.

When is starting a Ltd company a good idea?

Setting up a limited company or choosing to work through an umbrella company is in one of the options you need to consider once you've made the leap to become self employed. It may make the difference between becoming a successful contractor with a steady income, or your business floundering. It is always best to talk in person to a specialist contractor accountant as they can assess your individual circumstances and needs. Below are a few rough guidelines on whether an umbrella company or setting up your own Ltd company is the best option for you.

• If you are an established contractor, already contracting for at least 6 months, or planning to contract for the long-term or indefinitely, then starting up a Ltd company may be for you. You will already have a rough idea of the way in which freelancing works in regard to paying tax, NICs and claiming expenses.
• If you are new to freelancing or contracting than it is best to work under an umbrella company until you find your feet.
• Ltds are more suitable for higher earning contractors on higher rates of pay. If your earnings start reaching or tipping over a £40,000 per annum threshold (equivalent to £150+ a day) then setting up your own Ltd is more beneficial.
• Individuals starting Ltds will have a genuine interest in setting up their own business. A Ltd corporate structure looks more professional to customers and clients but a contractor should be aware of the added responsibility it entails.
• Setting up a Ltd is a sign of independence but in turn requires slightly more administration. Completing annual returns, personal and company tax returns, making payments and signing various documents all will have to be done. Also calculating your own expenses with receipts and bank statements will require the Ltd contractor to be more confident with their administration.
• Ltds must negotiate the minefield of IR35s, a piece of legislation introduced by HMRC. Does the IR35 apply to your Ltd company? There are helpful companies out there who can offer contractors a limited company service such as a specialist contractor accountant to deal with difficult HMRC paperwork.
• As discussed before, the limited company is your sole responsibility and you will need to arrange business insurances directly.

It is important to reiterate, filling out tax returns and completing other administrative paperwork can be a cumbersome task. If you are ready to progress to the next step in your career by becoming a Limited Company (Ltd) it can be a richly rewarding experience. If however the process seems too daunting then employing the services of a specialist contractor accountant is the best way of securing that all HMRC paperwork is filled out correctly and on time; avoiding big penalties from the tax man. A specialist contractor accountant can help you by either setting up a limited company or by managing an existing one for you.

For the self-employed, tax can be a headache. Forming a limited company can be an efficient way to manage tax affairs, but ensuring you get the right structure for your business is essential.

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Coming Up With A New Business Idea

By Rolf D. Versluis

When you have made the decision that you want to start your own business the choices can be overwhelming. There are so many different things that you can do, so many people offering you advice, it can be tempting to fall into analysis paralysis. There are some basic concepts of new business formation that I have seen and thought about over the years that may provide you a starting point.

One of the most defensible businesses is a combination of product and specialized service that works with local customers who have a need. Retail examples are dry cleaners and restaurants. They each have special equipment like steam boilers or kitchens, have some level of consumables like dry-cleaning fluid or food, and expertise in the staff that make them into good, stable businesses. Although these are good businesses, they are not ones that I would choose to start. There is a lot of competition, profit margins are low, there is a lot of management involved, and there is no clear path to making enough money to fast growth. The combination of product and expert services with local customers is a good one, but it has to be in a more profitable arena

The things I look for in new business ideas are the following: 

• Combination of product and service.
• Clearly and narrowly defined customer base that is willing to spend money.
• Ability to create a barriers of entry to competition.
• Repeating sales instead of one-time sales.
• Customer acquisition and servicing cost low versus profitability.
• Future growth prospects.
• Initial investment of capital and time.

It is also very important to know your own interests. Again, with a whole world of business ideas to choose from, you should pick something that you enjoy and already have an interest in. There are ways to make money in just about anything. If your interest is music, then you should start something involving music because it will be fun and you probably know what musicians and music lovers want and need. Don't make things hard on yourself, but also don't go down the path of mediocrity. It would be easy and simple to take a job as musician or music instructor, but that is just a job. It is harder yet much more rewarding to come up with an unfulfilled need and meet it. 

• Know your own interests.
• Think about unfulfilled or poorly filled needs.
• With constant technology change, are there new and better ways to do things?
• Is there a new business concept in a similar industry you can copy?

Instead of striking out new in an entirely unproven direction, take stock of what you already do on a day-to-day basis. Some of the most successful new business were started by employees that saw an opportunity to address a profitable niche and were frustrated by their company ignoring it for so long. There are many great things about leaving the company that you work for and starting a niche business in the same industry, especially if it does not compete with your current employer: 

• Existing base of potential customers that you already know.
• Your industry reputation will help you succeed.
• Focus on niche market allows for clear definition of mission.
• Potential partnership opportunities with companies in your industry.

After coming up with your idea, there are many things you can do with it. Realize that it may be valuable, so don't go around telling everyone that you are going to do it. Conversely, realize there are few people out there who are willing to take on the risk of starting a new business, so you can discuss the idea in general terms to test the waters. Then see if there is already somebody doing this, whether it is in your market or somewhere else. If it still seems like a good idea, start running through the profitability numbers. If it still seems like a good idea, great! You can start making preparations and plans to take it to the next step.

Get business startup and operations perspective, as well as excellent online resources at Priority Cue.

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How to Start a Green Business

By Ajaero Tony Ifeanyi

Indeed, "going green" is the big news anywhere these days. You can see it in people's faces; feel the excitement in the air. Yet everyone seems to have a hard time buying into the idea. To attract more prospects, most of today's successful green companies are focusing on other great benefits they can provide to their clients. You should too. This article will provide a great insight on how to start a green business. But before I go into the details of how to start a green business, I want to emphatically state that the information provided in this article does not in any way replace the need for you to conduct a feasibility study, write a business plan and do your own due diligence. Secondly, the information shared in this article is applicable to any locality; be it USA, Canada, UK, Nigeria, Ghana, etc.

Now when it comes to starting a green business, you have to understand that even if you have this noble "going green" idea inside you, the market appeal may not be enough as of the moment. But as the awareness of the need to preserve the ecosystem increases; consumers may likely switch over if you offer them other benefits such as cost saving features, or greater convenience and additional health benefits. Entrepreneurs keen on learning how to start a green business must understand the "green" appeal alone will not be enough; they have to offer other choices and benefits to convince their markets.

Whatever the case may be; customers still and will always want a good deal. To help save the environment may be a good rallying call, but economics still proves to be heavier down on people's pockets. Everything still boils down to the price factor; so you must take your cost into consideration before starting a green business. Without wasting your time, below are more tips on how to start a green business.

How to start a green business

1. Select your own niche
The business opportunities in the "going green" niche are enormous, and will continue to be because environment preservation has become the main calling in everyone's heart. With this trend, you can be certain to find a niche to satisfy.

2. Be an example
Of course, everything starts with you believing in your green products and allowing them to make changes in your life and business for the better. Whenever people notice your dedication to the earth-friendly lifestyle, they will be inclined to trust you and your ideas. This will also make you an expert in the field. Having a green attitude will reflect well on what your business is trying to promote.

3. Educate your potential customers
Consumers, especially those who are just new to the "green" idea are basically hungry for knowledge. They need to be sold on the idea of incorporating the use of green products in their daily lives. If you have done your homework and research, then you will be considered among their best sources for knowledge. You will also find yourself effectively able to communicate and interact with your customers well.

4. Know your best marketers
To better get a grip on the intricacies of starting a green business, you must understand the logic behind the idea of your customers becoming your best marketers at the same time. Green products is something that people discuss with fervor and enthusiasm these days, something that gives them hope from all these modern-day troubles we are facing. If you sell your customers on the idea of a healthier life, and they go home happy, then you can expect them to share the good news to their friends.

As a final note, I want to encourage you to keep your plans to start a green business alive because there's money to be made in that niche. All you need to do is to learn how things work in the green business industry. Think of all the knowledge acquired as a strong foundation for your green business.

And just before I drop my pen, I am giving you a once in a lifetime opportunity to download my Master List of Best Startup Business ideas and learn How to Make a Million Dollars Fast in less than a year.

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15 Techniques for Winning Negotiations

By Mike Daley

As a small business startup or current owner, learning negotiating skills is very important. Believe it or not, there are literally thousands of negotiations that can affect your business and your bottom line. These can be items as simple as getting a discount for your business cards or as complicated as a facility lease. It might be negotiating pay plans with employees or payment terms with a supplier.

The bottom line is most schools do not teach the art of negotiating. And believe me, it is an art, a talent, a skill! For some small business owners it comes naturally. For most of us, learning the art of negotiations comes through necessity, effort, and experience.

Here are 15 techniques that you might consider as you become a master of negotiating: 

1. Always leave some money on the table.
2. Never compromise on your principles.
3. Try to judge what's fair from the other side's point of view.
4. Write down your goals and scenarios before every negotiation.
5. Ask questions.
6. Information is power.
7. Discuss only broad terms and conditions on the onset.
8. Whenever possible, let the other person make the first offer.
9. If you must make the first offer, make it high.
10. Always encourage the other party that we are making a deal.
11. Always come down very slowly if you are selling, and up very slowly if you are buying.
12. Never give up a concession without getting one in return.
13. Never lose track of how many concessions you have given up.
14. Be skeptical about deadlines. Most are negotiable.
15. Never let an issue be discussed unless you are prepared. Sleep on it.

The next time you are in a position of give and take, you are in negotiation. As a small business owner, this can happen more frequently than not. Most of the time there will be no clear winner but rather some manner of satisfaction on both sides. When this results, your negotiations have probably been successful. The important thing is to understand that the skill of negotiating is a learning process. The four Ps of negotiating: plan, patience, persistence, and practice are crucial to developing strong alliances and relationships that can continue in the future.

Think about these 15 principles and watch as you get the discount, free rent, the next sale, or extended payment terms. Then get ready to move on to the next negotiation, because there is always another one right around the corner.

MJD Business Advice LLC is owned by Mike Daley, an award winning, small business expert, who has over 37 years of experience helping entrepreneurs start, grow, buy, and sell businesses as well as conducting many seminars and training programs. The business website is http://www.mjdbusinessadvice.com Some of the specialties at MJD Business Advice LLC include business planning and execution, financial forecast reviews, capital infusion strategies, strategic marketing, and sales process improvements. We develop and help you implement the processes to get to the next level of success. Let's Grow Together! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Daley

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Email Etiquette 101

By Patty Juan 

Email is probably the most common form of business communication in use today. Whether you are a solo business owner or an employee of a large corporation, you probably send and receive email messages many, many times each day. But truth be told, too often many of us send email messages that have a tendency to sound snippy, bossy, or even ditsy. Even worse, we sometimes fail to send a reply altogether.

Oftentimes, we are sending emails to people whom we have never met in person. These relationships are based solely on the emails we send back and forth.

You are not a snippy, bossy, angry person. And you absolutely are not ditsy. Do you want Mr. Smith to think you are snippy, bossy, angry, or - heaven forbid - ditsy? And of course you want Mr. Smith to know that his email message is very important to you.

Here are a few dos and don'ts that will help you showcase your professional image and allow your true intent to be read with a smile each and every time you click send:

• Always include a concise subject line. This will make clear what your message is about and will help recipients prioritize their inbox.
• If this is the first few communications with someone, begin the message with a greeting, such as "Dear Mr. Jones." It's polite and it's professional. Later on "Hello, John" is perfectly fine.
• Do not write your message in all caps. It sets an angry tone, and NO ONE LIKES TO BE YELLED AT.
• Do put your main point in the opening sentence. Let people know exactly what you are writing about. They are just as busy as you are.
• Do write short, polite paragraphs. Your message should not be a novel.
• But... don't be so short so that your tone is bossy. Read over your message. Do you sound bossy? "If you have a moment, I would like to speak with you right away," sounds so much nicer than, "I want to talk with you ASAP." I am not seven, and you are not my father.
• Please do not use abbreviations or acronyms, unless you are 15 and texting your BFF.
• Do use spell check. Never skip this step. Never.
• Please do remember to say please and thank you. You have manners. Please use them.
• And finally, do always reply to an email within 24 hours. If you need more time, for instance, you are not sure how to respond, send a brief reply to acknowledge you received the email and provide a time or date when you will be back in touch. After all, do you like to be left hanging?

Send the right tone from the beginning and showcase your professionalism and efficiency. It's your business. Be an expert!

If you struggle with setting the right tone in your email messages, there is a new email plugin called ToneCheck. ToneCheck checks for emotionally charged words or sentences within email messages and works similarly to spell check. Any angry or potentially accusatory phases will be highlighted, giving you the option to rephrase your message. At this time, ToneCheck works exclusively with Outlook, but will soon expand beyond Outlook as market demand increases. It does seem very useful and worth checking out.

Patty currently owns and operates eXPERT Business Support Services. Patty teams up with small business owners and corporate executives who are looking to cut administrative costs and improve their business' efficiency. Her enthusiasm and honest work ethic, together with her 25 years of experience in the corporate world and as an independent contractor, are the foundation and core of eXPERT Business Support Services. Patty loves spending time with her family, surfing, and devoting time to Habitat for Humanity and to her local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, which aims to protect and preserve our oceans and beaches. Visit http://www.expertsupportsvcs.com and see what an expert can do for you.

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Is Modern Technology Good For Your Business?

By Jason Robert King 

We all use technology in our businesses, at least to some degree, but is technology good for your business, or your health?

Nowadays technology influences our lives and businesses in many different and subtle ways. We're so used to using it that it's easy to forget that ten years ago most of it wasn't even invented. You might use DVDs, Podcasts or the Internet for your learning material. You'll probably use spreadsheets to track different aspects of your business and word processors to write documentation.

Then there's email, social networking (Twitter, Facebook, etc) and of course the flat screen monitor you're probably reading this on. All good stuff you might be thinking and it sure makes your life easier, right?

Yes I agree, until it goes wrong and it goes wrong a lot, all the time, but why?

Are You Fighting Bad Technology Too?

I've been involved in the software industry for around 20 years now and I've been using the internet since the early 1990s, well before most people knew it existed. I consider myself reasonably tech savvy as a result.

I think that most (but not all) people will agree that technology has transformed our lives, usually for the better. However, the reason I'm writing this post at all is because I still think it performs badly. I'll give you some examples as to why, going back no more than the last two days.

Yesterday, Excel crashed on me losing half an hours work, auto save failed so it was gone for good. As of last night Facebook no longer lets me post to my own account from my iPod Touch.

I did a little keyword research before writing this post and the tool crashed, taking ages to close properly and restart.

The internet connection I'm using is extremely slow and drops out occasionally losing it altogether for a few minutes at a time. Whilst trying to submit some articles to a website earlier I had to give up because I saw nothing but "timed out" errors and I lost yet more work.

Oh, and my wireless mouse stops working every few days with a flat battery and my spare (with a wire) has a mind of it's own.

I'm sure there's more and there will be by the time I manage to publish this, but I'm sure you get the picture.

This isn't intended to be a rant, because believe it or not the last few days haven't been particularly bad as far as fighting technology is concerned.

But it does feel like a fight sometimes, with more time and effort being taken fighting the tools to make them work than solving the original problem or performing the task at hand.

Why Is Technology So Bad?

Having used computers since they first appeared in the home I'll use them as an example as to why I think technology fails to work much of the time.

I believe it's for two main reasons:

Software - computers (and many other gadgets) run a lot of software nowadays, they run it simultaneously, it's often from different providers and it's very complex.

Technology is young - although we're at the cutting edge with computers and software it's easy to forget that it's still very young, extremely young in fact.

It's these two reasons which cause so many problems with modern technology. Most of it runs software, your phone, your car, your washing machine, your TV. Software by its very nature is complex and very prone to errors.

Most technology around now wasn't even invented ten years ago. We're only at the very very beginning of the Information Age. It may feel like we're well into it sometimes but we're really not.

If this were the Industrial Age (which is long gone now) we wouldn't have even invented steam powered machinery yet, we'd still be peddling the machinery ourselves.

So, is technology good for your business? I still think Yes when it works, but when it breaks it stops being a help and can cause you some immense stress.

Do I think things will improve any time soon? I'm afraid not. While we remain at the cutting edge and on the fast, exciting part of the curve we'll always be a few steps ahead of what we can actually do well.

Technology will continue to advance at an astonishing rate, but it'll continue to fail and cause us problems at a similar rate.

However, unless we plan to live in a cave we just have to live with it because in this day and age it's near impossible to avoid technology, especially in business.

Jason is a freelance Software Engineer who is a keen blogger, has run a number of online businesses and is also in the property letting business. His interests include researching and teaching the business mindset, his goal being to learn all there is to know about how to be a successful entrepreneur and to pass this information on to others. For more information visit: http://BusinessMindsetExpert.com or follow him at http://Twitter.com/JRKtm Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Robert_King

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