Click Here to enjoy all that Snohomish County, WA. has to offer. We surf the web daily and communicate with local companies to find and promote local events, community activities, tourist attractions, nonprofit organizations, money saving offers, and business news.
Business Development | Online Security – How To Develop Easy-To-Remember Secure Password Systems
As Internet technology evolves for the public users, so it goes for the bad guys (website hackers) as well. Hacking technology has improved to the point that we hear about online accounts, from a simple Facebook page to a sophisticated site such as Zappos.com, being hacked into on a daily basis.
When you select a password for a website you use, keeping it simple is not the answer. The hackers have access tools that will quickly figure out simple passwords. Using just number, just letters, only lower case, birthdates, common names, and addresses are a huge mistake.
In fact today, most websites requiring user log-in are beginning to not only tell you if your password is strong or weak, many are beginning to require complicated combinations using numbers, upper and lower case letters and even characters to create a powerful password to protect your personal information.
So, does this mean that you will have to keep a cheat sheet to remember all the complicated passwords you have created? Not necessarily, if you use a couple of simple techniques, it is possible to have different passwords on a hundred websites and be able to remember them all without writing them down.
There is a way to create a memorable a password system. For example, you can use the first four letters of the website URL with the last letter capitalized, then an Asterisk, then four numbers that only make sense to you.
- twiT*7475 = Twitter.com and my two children’s birth years.
- facE*7475 = Facebook.com, same as above.
Using a system such as this allows you to created strong complicated password protected websites and would be easy enough for you to remember without making a list. The key is for each password to be different, but easy for you to remember without written documentation.
Many people use the services of their Internet browser to keep track of their log in information which in not a bad idea, but if for any reason that information goes away, it will be a hassle to reset all the access information again.
It is also recommended to change your password system every three to six months just to increase the protection of your personal information. Also, sites such as your banking and/or PayPal sites should have a different password system so that, if by chance, someone does access your Facebook account is does not give them access to your financial accounts, as well.
Business Development | Successful Website Managers Keep It Simple
Reply
Nowadays, time is a precious commodity for website visitors. When they are looking for a product or service; they want to find the answer in a quick and timely fashion. Website managers and bloggers who have figured this out are reaping the rewards.
Too much information at once, multiple topics, and long winded content pages are a huge mistake. Just monitor your own reading habits and you will get the message and that message is keep it simple.
Here are a few pointers recommended for you to help your website visitors find what they are looking for quickly:
- Discuss one topic, product, service or solution at a time.
- Get to the point. Proof your content to eliminate unnecessary words and repeated remarks.
- Use short paragraphs to convey your message.
- Create bullet or numbered lists to promote your product or service.
- Use BOLD text to promote key words, points, or ideas.
In addition to maintaining to-the-point content, the overall look and feel of your webpage can also be an attraction or a deterrent. There are hundreds of cool gadgets, flash, sound, and animated tools to create an active website. However, too much will turn website visitors off.
The easier it is to find the message or link on your site, the longer visitors will stay on your site. Clean simple websites generate repeat visitors as well. Just look at any Google page, for example, simple and to the point without lengthy content pages and all the flashing fancy gadgetry.
To learn more about how to post content that will win your website visitors over, contact your local elloAgency Consulting for assistance.
Relationship Marketing | How To LinkedIn Book | Randy Schrum
Business Development | Just How Trustworthy Are Online Reviews?
Generally speaking, a trustworthy review would come from a source that is personally known, with a trust that the motivation for the review is in the requester’s best interest.
Before social media, trusted referrals came from friends, family, neighbors and coworkers; a group of people you know, have a relationship with and trust enough to seek out a referral for a product or service provider.
The electronic age is consuming that reliable referral network like a contractor on a burger and fries, and replacing it with the cold hard Internet; where anyone can say anything about any company, for any reason, with complete anonymity as to person or of purpose.
How reliable are the reviews on the Internet? Well, with this new online choice we have to take into consideration and/or try to determine the motivation of the author of the review because it is no longer coming from someone we know and trust, right?
What is the motive? After extensive research and evaluation of the online reviews for many companies one thing has been consistent, most of the reviews studied could not be trusted because of the suspected motivation of the author.
For example, We discovered many people, of all ages, who have written negative reviews about a company they themselves have never done business with. Many companies solicit positive reviews from their sphere of influence for a benefit; free diner, etc. Several competitors have been caught posting negative reviews about the competition.
And last, but not least, the biggest offender of posting untrustworthy reviews; the Internet Marketing Industry itself. That is right, marketing agents, advertising agencies, social media guru’s, and business consultants just like us. There are some that will trade a good referral or include a good referral as part of their service.
This means that the majority of the reviews posted on the Internet cannot be trusted to be in your best interest. However, there is a very small percentage that are honest postings from satisfied and/or dissatisfied patrons. Here are a few signs you can look for to determine if a review is reputable:
Most legitimate reviews are targeted at one or two subjects; the food I ordered was perfect and the service could not have been better, for example. If the reviewer goes on and on about several aspects of the business and gushes how bad or good the company is excessively; it is most likely a fake review and should be ignored.
If the post uses profanity, degrading, or any kind of offensive language. This tells us that the post was placed out of anger and/or delirium and should not be considered because we always regret what was said in the moment, later.
If you suspect a review is questionable, most sites, allow you to view the review poster’s profile. From that you can see a trend. Are all their reviews positive or negative? That is a sign that the review cannot be trusted. An honest reviewer will have an eclectic mix of good and bad reviews using different ratings.
The best way to determine the reviews that can be trusted is to consider how you would write a review yourself. Your review, whether negative or positive would be written in a short, to the point, compassionate manner.
For example, most honest reviewers discuss the good points and the bad points when posting a review. There message is short and to the point. I suggest going with your gut feeling on some, it will usually be right.
The last point to consider is the good news – bad news theory. Bad news travels fast, good news doesn’t sell! Simply put, most satisfied customers do not offer reviews. There feeling is that the company is supposed to provide satisfactory products and services for a reasonable fee. You don’t get a pat on the back for just doing what was expected or implied.
The bottom line is, the new review and referral services offered today on the Internet, no matter how much the website owners try to police them, are highly flawed, unreliable, and for the most part, are overflowing with postings which cannot be trusted to be honest reviews.
If you or your company is the victim of unfair review postings, your elloAgency Consultant will be able to help you improve on those reviews.
Business Development | Houston, We Have A Problem …
“Houston, We Have A Problem…”
Well, not literally. But it is a catchy headline that virtually everyone recognizes.
by The Rojas Group / elloLasVegas Agency.
Taking this “theme” into the business world I wanted to point out that I continually address the same challenges with almost every business owner I consult with. Yesterday I met with four different owners / or managers from four completely different industries, all to discuss Internet Marketing and their company’s future participation in this emerging segmented marketing industry. The result? The same issues and questions for each of them.
How do I get started? What do I need to do? I have a Facebook page, isn’t that all I need? How will I make this successful for my business (i.e., what is my ROI and how do I “bring in more clients”).
Same questions and I provided the same answers!
Business owners and managers need more than a Facebook Page and a Twitter account. In fact, there are five distinct and separate campaigns using multiple websites (social sites, enticement sites, content sites, directory sites, and referral sites) which are required; using a uniformly branded add campaign that delivers the same short and direct message to be successful at capturing new business from an Internet marketing campaign.
But having a multiple campaign network populated and up and running will not bring in many new clients if “Connection & Follow Up” procedures are not used to establish relationships. Think about it, as small business owners we typically develop good relationships with our clients, and often the number of clients for many small business owners totals fewer than 25. That is not a lot but usually enough to operate profitably for many companies. Having the ability to generate even just a few new clients that bring in substantial business is certainly worth the effort.
If managed properly, clients tend to lead to more clients as referrals are made. It is important to develop and establish these relationships and the Internet allows introductions to new people, new markets and new opportunities in just minutes. For larger companies that rely on multiple clients, such as retailers and golf courses, the network provides excellent methods of promoting their brands to a wider audience and “enticing” consumers into their locations for special promotions and savings, as well as introducing new products and inventory.
I know I have said it before in past blogs, but it is worth saying again;
“More roads leading out into the vast world of the Internet means more opportunities to establish new relationships with potential clients.”
Online Consumer Development is ever changing, with new sites that offer new services coming online almost daily! And, it requires a commitment, particularly with your time. But, as business owners it is important to be a part of this new method of developing relationships and capturing new business.
We all recognize that this is no passing fad and that it is not a simply task. It’s time to find out what an elloAgency consultant can do for your bottom line.
Chucklin’ On Camano | A Short Neurological Test From Zeeshan Ahmed
Here is a quick test I found posted on Google+.
Give it a try, it is quite interesting.
Zeeshan Ahmed originally shared this post:
A Short Neurological Test
1- Find the C below
Please do not use any cursor help.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
2- If you already found the C, now find the 6 below.
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
69999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
3 – Now find the N below. It’s a little more difficult.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
This is NOT a joke. If you were able to pass these 3 tests, you can cancel
your annual visit to your neurologist. Your brain is great and you’re far
from having a close relationship with Alzheimer.
Congratulations!
eonvrye that can raed this rsaie your hnad.
If you can read the following paragraph, you are just awsome.
Only great minds can read this
This is weird, but interesting!
If you can raed this, you have a sgtrane mnid too
Can you raed this? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The
phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde
Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the
olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit
pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a
pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot
slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed this forwrad it.
RESHARE ONLY IF YOU CAN READ IT.
Cookin’ On Camano | How To Fix Easy-To-Peel Perfect Hardboiled Eggs
Have you ever tried to peel a hardboiled egg only to have the white stick to the shell and come off in chunks or have trouble removing the thin membrane that covers the whites? Well then, we are on the same page. You can either try the goofy deals they sell on TV, or you can try my approach.
With the help of some cooks who really know their stuff, I have a fantastic solution for perfect hardboiled eggs. The shell peels right off in just a couple of pieces, the membrane goes with it and what you have left is a perfect, delicious egg without the consternation.
Follow these simple steps and you too will experience the joy of perfect hardboiled eggs. In order:
- Remove eggs from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature or dunk them in lukewarm water until they are close to room temp. This is going to take a bit, so plan ahead.
- Bring just enough water to cover the eggs to a rolling boil and with a large slotted spoon, gently dunk two “room temp” eggs at a time into the boiling water. Time is of the essence, so if you want no-hassles when you go to peel the eggs and if you are cooking more than two at a time, hurry, but be gentle putting the eggs in the water. If you bounce them they will crack.
- Next, lower the temperature on the burner so the water is gently boiling, not roaring.
SPECIAL NOTE: I always boil my eggs for egg salad or for snacking in the early AM because if I pull some of the eggs out of the water in four minutes, it is like peeling a water balloon and makes perfect “poached-like” eggs for breakfast and the shell just fails right off. The yoke is runny like over easy. If you want your yoke more firm, then leave them in the boiling water for five or six minutes, Etc. You will have to experiment with that because the runnier the better for me, but I do like the white cooked.
- Boil the eggs for 14 or 15 minutes. More than that is suicide, so set the timer, remember; if you want perfect eggs, time is of the essence.
- When the timer goes off and you have boiled the eggs gentle for 14 minutes, remove them immediately from the burner and place the pan under cold running water. Do not empty the hot water, just place the pan in the sink an begin to run cold water until the hot water is replaced.
- Let the eggs bask in cold tap water for about 10 minutes and then peel for slicing on salads or making egg salad or for just enjoying a tasty hardboiled egg without any hassle.
Try this process and you will experience the joy of perfect hardboiled eggs that peel easily with no problem and taste perfect.
At this point I would say, “Trust Me!”, but my wife would say, “Don’t you dare!”. After all, what would an unemployed remodeling contractor know about cooking eggs, lol.
Relationship Marketing | The CONNECTION Online Marketing Campaign
Out of the FIVE ONLINE CAMPAIGNS we recommend, this campaign is the single most important online marketing campaign. If followed up proactively, the connections made using these social media sites are the key to producing new business customers for any company. Surprisingly, over 80% of the businesses we review fail miserably in the executing of this most important campaign.
Connection sites are those relationship sites which allow you to connect, follow, befriend, join with, or make acquaintances with businesses and individuals who meet your target market and/or demographic criteria.
Although many of these social media or relationship developing sites offer other types of marketing tools and features, we are only addressing the connection potential in this article.
- Merchant Circle: This is a business to business or B2B networking site which offers connecting, enticement, blogging, and review marketing tools. You can select the city and type of business you want to connect with and Merchant Circle sends a connection request to the business on your behalf.
Many business managers state that they want to network with individuals not companies. Well, at the end of the work day, when those business managers lock the front door they become what? Individual consumers.
- Google+: This is a multipurpose connection site which allows you to add any kind of connection you can imagine; acquaintances, businesses, associates, individuals, friends, family, co-workers, Etc. You can set your connections up by target market, demographic, location, Etc.
You simply, add people to whatever CIRCLES you create and they receive an email notice which gives them the option to add you to their circles in return.
- Twitter: This is one of the most effective online social media sites for generating connections. It allows the user to create two lists: FOLLOWERS and FOLLOWING. The catch here is to maintain your target market and demographic standard so you are working with people or companies that could actually be customers. For example, Twitter will allow anyone to follow you, from anywhere in the world, and will allow you to follow anyone anywhere in the world.
There are two important factors to consider while you are connecting. First, if the followers could be customers you can organize them on lists, if they could not be, I recommend you block them. If you do not you will be surfing through tweets that are of no value to you. The second point is to only follow Twitter accounts which are within your target market or demographic. Anyone else is a waste of valuable marketing time. In other words, do not follow someone because you like their content, follow them because they could be a customer.
- Facebook: This site is great for two types of connections. Connecting with people you know is the main criteria. This means you are befriending people you know; friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances. Also, this is a social media site that you can use for secondary connections with the people you have connected with on the other connection sites above.
Use extreme caution when sending friend requests on Facebook. If you send a multitude of requests to people you do not know and the receivers complain enough about receiving friend requests of this nature, Facebook can and will close your account without notice.
However, most business-type people, who are trying to build their online connections, will not mind if you send them a request, whether you know them or not.
- LinkedIn: Very similar in the type of connects and policies as Facebook, but this site targets business professionals. The emails received to connect from LinkedIn inform the recipient that you would like to add them to your professional network.
Again, what is important here is that you and the person you are requesting a connection with are supposed to already know each other before you send a request. Again, typically, if a business who is trying to build their online influence through connections receives a request from someone who meets their target market/demographic standard, they usually will gladly accept the offer to connect professionally.
- Klout: One of the newest connection sites and also one of the most powerful for developing relationship connections. This site not only allows you to make connections, it also offers a tool for you to acknowledge and/or compliment a person’s talent and/or area of expertise during the connection process. For example, you want to connect with a real estate agent. You can send them a “K” for REAL ESTATE which will improve their influence rating on Klout and the Internet, in general. Now who does not like a good referral or compliment concerning their area of expertise.
There you have today’s top six CONNECTION generating sites which are considered to be crucial to the success of any type of online marketing campaign. Please remember that making the right connections is only half of the equation. The FOLLOW UP is where the new business customers will come from, not the initial connection. If all you do is create connections you are just wasting your time.
New connections sites are popping up on the Internet every day. When that happens we add them to our MyCMS Network packages, but most of these are secondary in production of connections to the sites listed above. Some examples of these additional social sites are:
SalesSpider.com Blogger.com Digg.com FourSquare.com BizNik.com ReferralKey.com Stik.com
Business Development | How to Define Your Target Market | Inc.com
Please Tweet This Blog
How to Define Your Target Market
To build a solid foundation for your business, you must first identify your typical customer and tailor your marketing pitch accordingly.
By Mandy Porta | Jun 22, 2010
With the current state of the economy, having a well-defined target market is more important than ever. No one can afford to target everyone. Small businesses can effectively compete with large companies by targeting a niche market.
Many businesses say they target “anyone interested in my services.” Some may say they target small business owners, homeowners, or stay-at-home moms. All of these targets are too general. MORE …..
Business Development | Demographics Definition From Entrepreneur.com
Article: For those who are skeptical about Web marketing.
Demographics | Who Is Your Customer?
Definition: A statistical view of a population, generally including age, gender, income, schooling, occupation and so on
Understanding the demographics of your target customers is critical for the success of your business. Not only do you need to understand them in order to decide exactly what your product and services mixes will include, but this information will also affect pricing, packaging, promotion and place.
Let’s talk about just one of these factors to see how demographics affects your choices. In order to properly evaluate a community or neighborhood for the best location for your business, you must know the demographic profile of your potential customers. To see if the community you’re considering offers a population with the demographic traits necessary to support your business, look at the community’s: MORE …..
Demographics Definition | Small Business Encyclopedia | Entrepreneur.com.
Home Based News | Seeking General Manager For The elloAgency of Seattle, WA. « elloAgencies of The USA Blog
Relationship Marketing | The elloAgency MyCMS Sales Strategy Field Test
Recently, while working on the elloAgency MyCMS Network, I read a post on my Facebook Wall about a contest at a local gym. The contest was a daily event and the winner of the contest won a Branded T-Shirt. To become the winner participants explained why they should get the T-Shirt and then page visitors would vote on the best reason posted by clicking the LIKE button. Contestants, of course, contacted people they knew, encouraged them to LIKE their reason. My thanks to the GOLD’S MUKILTEO ATHLETIC CLUB for allowing me to conduct this marketing test.
JUST FYI: While I was conducting this test, every single person I communicated with said they preferred this gym for its cleanliness, great staff and equipment.
The results below demonstrate the power of the elloAgency MyCMS Network coupled with the elloAgency Four-Step Sales Strategy.
CONTEST NUMBER ONE: Without MyCMS
Wednesday Contest Number One Without MyCMS
The stats on the Wednesday Contest
Number of contest FOLLOWERS: FIVE (5)
Total Number of contest entry LIKES: FIVE (5)
Number of Contestant Entries: TWO (2)
Number of WINNER LIKES: FOUR (4)
Mike M. was the winner after raising just 4 votes
Note: There is no evidence that Mike M’s networking had any influence on the LIKES but we can assume that one to three of the contest likes were probable a result of his efforts.
CONTEST NUMBER TWO: With the elloAgency MyCMS Network & Four-Step Sales Strategy in practice for just a few hours.
You Can Clearly See The elloAgency MyCMS Difference!
The stats on the Thursday Contest
Using the elloAgency MyCMS Networking Four Step Sales Strategy
Number of contest FOLLOWERS: SEVEN (7)
Total Number of contest entry LIKES: THIRTY-ONE (31)
Number of Contestant Entries: NINE (9)
Number of WINNER LIKES: FOURTEEN (14)
Mike C was the winner after raising 14 votes
Note: The elloAgency MyCMS Networking activity is also responsible for five of the other contestant entries, several of the like votes and thee of the people that liked the contest.
For example, I contacted one real estate broker to vote for my LIKE, but instead not only did he enter the contest as a competitor, he also voted for other contestants. There were also interactive posts between the contestants which did not occur in the comparison contests here.
THE OVERALL RESULT OF THE TEST:
This test clearly demonstrates the value of the elloAgency MyCMS Product. It clearly shows, that once the MyCMS Network is functioning at 100%, leads can be harvested, prospects can be developed, and positive results can be achieved at a much higher rate by focusing on CONNECTIONS & FOLLOW UP, instead of content and seo.
To find out how to put the MyCMS product to work for your company, contact us for a complimentary online marketing review. We will evaluate your current online presence and deliver a report with our findings and recommendations. Then we will show you how to create your 0wn MyCMS Network or construct one for you.
ORDER YOUR COMPANY REVIEW TODAY!
CONTEST NUMBER THREE: Without MyCMS
Friday Contest Number Three Without MyCMS
The stats on the Friday Contest
Number of contest FOLLOWERS: ZERO (0)
Total Number of contest entry LIKES: EIGHT (8)
Number of Contestant Entries: THREE (3)
Number of WINNER LIKES: FOUR (4)
Mike M (A different Mike M) was the winner after raising 4 votes
Note: There is no evidence that Mike M’s networking had any influence on the LIKES but we can assume that one to three of the contest likes were probable a result of his efforts.
Clappin’ On Camano | Live At Sturgis – .38 Special
More from the Clappin’ On Camano Live Concert Series
Although I have never owned a Harley, I am certainly a Harley fan. My neighbor has several and rides them all over the country. I love the sound of a smooth running Harley Davidson Motorcycle. I did own a Honda 360 once, but I was quite foolish and got rid of it before I killed myself on it. Anyway, here is a live concert from .38 Special from 1999 for you to enjoy.
STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY 2012… ARE YOU READY?
Don’t count on the world slowing down and it taking a long time for August 2012 and the Rally to get here. It seems like yesterday that we were prepping for 2011 and here we are boxing it up, setting it on the shelf, and running full steam ahead into 2012.
Live At Sturgis – .38 Special – Listen and discover music at Last.fm.
