By Nate Burgoyne
Do you fear surprise business calls to your personal phone number? Could you use an extra phone number? An easy way to get a virtual phone number is with an eVoice® 6 Month Free Trial
. I personally use the service and now they are giving away 6 month free trials. Why might you want to get a virtual phone number?
Have you ever found yourself in this situation?
You are driving the car, your kids are being loud, or you’re in a noisy environment and your phone rings with an strange phone number. . . and you instantly freeze staring at your phone debating whether you should answer it and run the risk of a potential client or customer being turned off by the noise in the background, or let it go your your personal unprofessional voicemail and risk losing the sale. You don’t know.
If you have a virtual phone number, either a toll free number or a local number, that forwards to your cell phone or home phone, with caller ID you’ll know that it’s a business call coming through so you can get to a quiet place and take the call. Or, you can let the caller go to a professional voicemail recording for your business.
How helpful is a virtual phone number?
I have like 5 of them. That said, eVoice is now giving away 6 month free trials. I have honestly never seen an opportunity like this. I’ve seen free 14 day trials, and free 30 day trials, but free 6 month trials? Never.
If you think this might be a good tool for your business click the banner below to get the offer.
Categories: Advertising, Business Resources, Communication, Discounts and Services, Productivity, What I Use
Tags: get a virtual phone number, virtual phone numbers
By Nate Burgoyne
“Why does my website load slowly?” Yep, it’s a point of frustration for many business owners with an online presence. There are a number of reasons why your website may be loading slowly and here are a few:
1) The graphics files that make up your website are too large. Web graphics are different than print graphics. If you use graphics meant for print on a website, it’s going to take forever for those graphics to load on someone’s screen.
2) There’s too much extra code behind the scenes of your website.
3) Your hosting account is slow. Your hosting account is like the gas for your website. If you have a junk hosting account, the site’s going to always run slow no matter what.
What’s the fix?
A) Have a web professional like myself or someone else have a look at your website for a free quick assessment.
B) Try switching to a new hosting account. I won’t name names but some are notoriously slow. Want a fast one? Here’s a company I recommend: Unlimited Domain Hosting Only $9.95 a Month
Categories: Blogging, Computers, Start a Business, Web Design
Tags: hosting account is slow, website load slow, why does my website load slowly
By Nate Burgoyne
You’re marketing has kicked in and now you’ve got more business leads than you can handle! Now, what? You need a lead nurturing software so that nobody falls between the cracks.
It happens to everyone that unrolls an effective online marketing campaign. First, there’s the thrill of new business leads magically appearing in your email box. Then, those leads get lost among your other email, then your mental Rolodex of leads maxes out, and finally all leads mix together and your lead management turns into and endless game of 52 Card Pickup.
Ah, you remember 52 Card Pickup. I remember the first time I was taught how to play that game. I was about 8 years old and I was invited to play a card card came. “What’s it called?” I asked enthusiastically. “It’s called 52 Card Pickup,” was the reply. “How do you play?” I asked. And down went the entire deck of cards all over the floor waiting for us to pick them up.
If you feel like you’re constantly playing 52 Card Pickup with your leads, you need a lead nurturing software to keep all your leads under control in a tight deck.
As soon as the cards, I mean leads, start hitting the floor there are usually two reactions: 1) generate more leads to replace those that you know are falling by the wayside or 2) tighten up the deck and get a follow up system for lead management.
The best solution is to tighten up the deck and manage or nurture your leads effectively.
So, what do I personally use to manage my leads? Well, I’ve tried all kinds of solutions that I won’t go into here and the best solutions I’ve found is a software called Act! It’s fantastic. You can track your leads from the source, through the sales process, and into production. It will even track the money your leads are converting into.
Is it intuitive? Yes. I don’t have time to read instruction manuals, and I use the software just fine.
Can you take it for a FREE Act! Test Drive to try it out? Absolutely.
Now, I don’t own Act! or anything. I bought the software to use for my business, it solved my problem, and I recommend you check it out. Here’s where you can get FREE Act! 2010 test drive, no strings attached. Great company!
Categories: Communication, List Building, Productivity, Start a Business, What I Use
Tags: lead management software, lead nurturing, lead nurturing software
By Nate Burgoyne
If Al Gore was really the actual guy invented the internet, I am long over due for sending him a fruit basket! Here I am in my home office on the island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that is further from a main continent than any other island chain the world conducting business at a global level. And, you can do the same.
When it comes to marketing online, Google, Yahoo!, Bing, AOL, and others don’t care where you business is, how many employees you have, what your tax return was last year, or what you wear to “the office”, which for many businesses is little more than a leisurely stroll past the refrigerator for a cold drink then on to a laptop at the kitchen table. The job of the search engines is to deliver relevant information to those searching for it.
The real online marketing magic happens when you learn how to make your business the source of information that people are searching for.
Let’s go through a real life example. Suppose you have a small boutique in Hawaii on the North Shore of the island of Oahu that sells a variety of products. Where would you start marketing online? Well, first of all, with some research you learn that every month there are about 1,000 people around the world searching online for the exact phrase “gifts of Hawaii”. Next, you make some changes to your website so that it comes up at the top of Google when people search for “gifts of Hawaii”. Then, if your website is built to sell, you’ve tapped into a steady stream of customers.
This is a perfect example because the average business owner would not think that “gifts of Hawaii” is what people are actually searching for. Well, they are. And when that little Hawaiian boutique owner’s business starts showing up on the Google search engine when people search for “gifts of Hawaii”, the sales are poised to go up.
And for all those Hawaiian boutique owners that read my blog, “You’re welcome”. Happy marketing!
Categories: Advertising, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Start a Business
Tags: global reach, haleiwa, hawaii, oahu, online marketing
By Nate Burgoyne
Rarely do I come across anything that sparks me to make an announcement like this, however, in my book Yahoo! Small Business web hosting has Struck Out!
While it’s a piece of cake to register domain names and build a D0-It-Yourself website for cheap that you will quickly realize must be replaced by a professional site if you have any hopes of generating business with it, it’s a royal pain when you’re ready to cross that bridge.
Rather than bore you with all the technicalities or the system, it would be like handing a bag of ’86 Toyota Tercel car parts to a master mechanic and asking him or her to build a Porsche.
What do I wholeheartedly recommend? Scan the sidebar to the right of this post for the answer.
Categories: Start a Business, Traffic, Web Design
Tags: hosting, website hosting, yahoo, yahoo hosting, yahoo hosting problems
By Nate Burgoyne
I give credit and respect to Robert Allen who burned the phrase “Multiple Streams of Income” not only on my brain but on the minds of self-employed entrepreneurs throughout the world. And, so the question is often asked of me when I’m wearing one of the various “business hats” I have in my closet, “Hey, Nate. Is this all you do?”.
New income streams and sources of revenue to new and existing businesses are always on my mind. I am flattered when a good friend of mine, Mark Seery, franchise owner of The Referral Institute, introduces me to others as a web designer, SEO, and online marketing specialist, then follows the introduction by saying something along the lines of, “But still waters run deep, and with Nate they run really deep.”
Do I have multiple streams of income? Yes. Am I willing to share what they are? Yes, for those who are interested.
Categories: Start a Business, What I Use
Tags: income streams, multiple streams of income
By Nate Burgoyne
I must admit, it’s been a while since my last blog post, but you know what? It’s for a good reason. I have been taking care of my clients. That’s my #1 priority. Is it yours?
Now, when you read that opening paragraph, you probably had one of two thoughts:
A) Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I’ve heard that before. Or. . .
B) Nate, you are exactly right. You nailed it right on the head.
The truth is, if your thoughts were somewhere along the lines of response “A”, you either haven’t been in business very long, or you probably won’t be. If your thoughts were along the lines of response “B”, you probably have a steady flow of clients or customers.
In a day 0f instant gratification from a consumer point of view, business owners often seek after instant gratification from the service provider point of view, anxious to move on to the next customer without really meeting the needs of their current clients. The service provider is going after the instant gratification of a happy client when, the truth is, that client may have expected more.
Take care of your clients, my friends. It’s quick becoming a lost virtue. Those who do are poised for success!
Categories: Economy, News, & You, Start a Business
Tags: instant gratification, take care of your clients
By Nate Burgoyne
I’ll make this quick. If you don’t have a privacy policy and terms of use page for your website, you are in danger! The FTC is really ramping up to crack down on all those that don’t adhere to all their rules about disclosure and documentation. Government intervention can shut you down in a heartbeat, and freeze all your assets. What are the fines?
Violations are not determined by the size of your company. And, when they contact you it’s not for a citation or for negotiations, it’s because you’ve already been tagged for the violation.
What’s the fine? I know of 3 businesses that were fined one for $25,000, another for $85,000, and a third for $100,000. And the last one was simply for not obtaining verifiable parental consent prior to collecting personal information from children.
What’s the solution? I personally use and recommend Len Thurmond’s Auto Web Law.
It’s a simple piece of software that you download and use right away. You simply choose the form you want, fill in the blanks and click “Get Document”. Instantly, you have document you need for your website. Then you just cut and paste the text when you need it.
Here’s a screen shot of how it works:
For a closer look at Auto Web Law, click here. They have 2 options:
1) Auto Web Law Pro – Has almost 70 documents. This is not a blanket legal forms software. This is for website owners and is being constantly updated as new laws regarding the internet come into effect. (THIS IS THE ESSENTIAL PACKAGE)
2) Auto Web Law Pro + IPPP Intellectual Property Protection Plan – Includes legal forms to notify those who are stealing content from your website or digital books. (THIS IS FOR ULTIMATE PROTECTION)
Both include Privacy Policies and Terms of Use forms.
Again this is exactly what I personally use to legally protect my websites.
If you don’t have it, get it.
Visit the Auto Web Law website HERE.
Categories: Blogging, Business Resources, Internet Marketing, Web Design, What I Use, software
Tags: auto web law, need a privacy policy, privacy policy, privacy policy form, privacy policy template, terms of use template
By Nate Burgoyne
I just got an email today from Linda Robb at Aloha Kine Gifts (www.alohakine.com) who saved 75% of what she has been paying to get her business cards done. Well, I decided to do some research and see if I could hook up all my readers with an unreal discount from the company I referred her to, Vistaprint. And I found one, a FREE one!
Here’s what Linda emailed me today, “Hi Nate: Thanks so much for the referral to Vistaprint. We just received our first order and they’re exactly the same as we’ve been ordering from our prior supplier – but at almost 25% of the price. Wow, that’s 75% off!!! We do a full bleed, glossy business card and are so sold on Vista Print that we’re now excited about having them print other marketing materials. – Linda”
We’ll here’s the unreal deal like I said, a FREE one!
Why would Vistaprint give away free customized business cards? It must be a trick right?
Nope. There’s no trick. You don’t have to order anything else. Just get your free cards. Vistaprint knows their cards are so good that, when the give away a free stack of them to business owners like Linda at Aloha Kine, they are confident that the business owner is going to be a new client for life. Was it worth giving away a free stack of cards? Absolutely.
I found the banner below and put it in this blog post so you can get your free cards.
Give ‘em a shot, it’s free.
On a side note, I honestly don’t know how long this offer is going to last but if the banner is still down there, click it and jump on the offer before Vistaprint takes it down. . . here it is ↓↓↓↓
Categories: Advertising, Business Resources, Discounts and Services, Productivity, Start a Business, What I Use
Tags: business card scam, free business cards, free custom business cards, free customized business cards, vistaprint
By Nate Burgoyne
There are very few people that I have ever share this with. In fact, I can probably count them on one hand. I get paid to give away things for free. Seriously! Today I got paid again from it, and I thought you’d be interested in knowing how you can do it too.
Getting paid for giving away things for free? Sounds fishy right? It’s not.
It’s called CPA marketing. No, not Certified Public Accountant, it stands for Cost Per Action.
Let me make an example to show you how it works. Company ABC knows that if they give away 5 samples of their product or service that, statistically, one of them will turn into a long term customer and make the company $200 per year. So, Company ABC is willing to pay people like you and me $10 every time we send someone to their website and they order a free sample.
The math is easy. Company ABC gives $10 to each its 5 affiliates who each sent one person to the website to sign up for a free sample. One of the free samplees becomes a customer bringing the company $200. And in the end, the company nets $150. So, the more free samples the company gives away, the more money they make, and the more money the CPA affiliates make.
It’s not tricky or fishy, it’s just affiliate marketing on steriods! And, you get paid whether or not your referral every buys anything. All they have to do is take a free sample and you get paid. Traditional affiliate marketing pays you when a sale is made. CPA marketing pays you when your lead takes an action as simple as entering their name and email on a form.
The problem is “just anybody” can’t become part of these CPA networks. You had to “be somebody” in the marketing world to join them…until now.
Affiliate Jump is a CPA affiliate network that is open to the public.
Yes! I am a member of Affiliate Jump.
Interested? Click this banner to watch a free video about CPA marketing:
Categories: Affiliate Marketing, Internet Marketing, Start a Business, What I Use
Tags: affiliate jump, cpa marketing, paid to give things away
