Monday, February 11th at 5:00 AM MST, Joanne Quinn-Smith, CEO of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates and President of the National Association of Women Business Owners in Pittsburgh, PA. and I will chat on Talkshoe, a popular talkcast network and we’ll be talking about RSS …which stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and is an application that helps content providers get their content out on the internet and directly into people’s VIEW. You are officially invited!

The reason why YOU want to listen in is because once you understand how easy this application is to use and how much time and brain damage it will save you, you’ll wonder why you didn’t subscribe to it sooner! Basically it’s like subscribing to your favorite magazines and having them delivered directly to your home…except the content that’s in the magazines comes from the internet. And instead of you leaving it on your coffee table, you leave it on your computer or MP3 player. But you can still open it up at YOUR convenience, just like your magazine.

It’s VERY COOL!

Now, Just in case you aren’t up at the wee hour of the mornin’ , one of the beautiful things about podcasts (sort of like online radio shows) is that they are recorded and can be listened to with a click of a mouse…just like the play button down at the bottom of this post. OR if your kids have talked you into buying an MP3 player, like an iPod, you can download the show to it and listen while you’re working out at the club (although if you’re into water aerobics, wait ’til you’re on dry land :).

OUR FIRST EPISODE IS VERY INFORMATIVE!

This will be the second podcast we”ll be doing together after we met through mutual contacts on a social networking site. In the first one, which took place about a month ago, we talk alot about social networking, podcasting, video, Web 2.0, which YOU CAN LISTEN TO RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

You can find the play or download button at the bottom of this post.

But don’t forget about this Monday. I don’t want to be the only one up before the crack of dawn! Please join us!

As a business owner, you’re always looking for more ways to market yourself—especially online. If you’ve heard of blogs, you may be asking yourself, “How can a blog benefit my business?”

The following four ideas demonstrate how blogging can drive customers into your sales cycle and make a significant impact to your bottom line.

Idea Generation 

A blog can be used as an idea forum. This is the online equivalent of the suggestion box. Employees may not be willing to offer ideas in a public meeting—or face to face with a boss—but may be more enthusiastic with an open blog.

If you’re the sole employee, and boss, you can still use a blog as an idea generation tool. Existing customers love to offer advice for improvements. You won’t be able to please everyone but being open to new ideas will enable to expand your product and service offerings.

Visibility 

One of the keys to effective online marketing is content generation. A blog is the most efficient tool for publishing content online.

Publishing content allows you to create viral marketing campaigns, address customer complaints, and offer incentives.

Web users are increasingly losing confidence in the traditional, online advertising mediums—pop-ups, pay-per-click, and email. They want reliable, credible, and honest information. Blogging gives you the platform to provide all three.

One benefit to blogging is that your content—no matter when it was published—will always be visible to users. As your blog content grows, so will your site traffic and, ultimately, your sales.

Find 2 more great reasons to use a blog here where you can read the article is in its’ entirety:

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Debbie Ducic of GutZy Women continues her chat with Frank Klein and David Skul of Relativity about Web 2.0 and they discuss real examples of how new Web 2.0 technologies are being used to connect businesses with their customers, suppliers and joint venture partners, businesses with other businesses, students with teachers as well as teachers with parents AND causes with donors.

This series of videos promises to open your eyes to new ways of getting your message out as well as inviting others into your conversation. More at http://www.debbieducic.com

The thought of designing your own Website shouldn’t send you running. Current design software programs take most of the guesswork—and pain—out of Website design.

Choosing the right software is the easy part. Mastering the software will take time and patience.

Everyone’s Website needs are different. The following types of Website design software will help you choose the one that meets your business needs and skill level.

WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Software 

This popular design software allows you to “see” your site as you build it. It’s similar to using a word processing program in that you don’t see the actual code behind the design unless you choose to.

Paid software programs include Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft FrontPage. The advantage to these higher end programs is their rich feature sets and flexibility. You can look at and modify the underlying code but it’s not necessary to complete your design.

Lower end programs—like you might find in office supply stores—are less flexible. And they won’t have the depth of support available with programs like Dreamweaver and FrontPage.

The primary disadvantages are price and learning curve. These programs range in price from $150 to $300+. And even if you’re intimately familiar with word processing, spreadsheet, and database programs, learning a Website design program will require time and patience.

HTML Editing Software 

This software is for those more interested in learning HTML. Before you dismiss it, let me explain why learning HTML can be advantageous.

Learning HTML helps you understand how the Web works. Once you learn basic HTML elements, you’ll know how to update and troubleshoot your own site much quicker. Like mastering any new skill, it will give you much more appreciation for how different designs appeal to different audiences.

HTML will also give you the knowledge required to customize templates. If you’re concerned about starting a design from scratch, using templates designed by others is a great way to get started.

And, of course, if you’re planning to start a Web design business, knowing HTML can help you establish credibility.

Read the full article here to find out more

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How do you get the attention of people online these days when there are billions of websites, thousands of blogs appearing daily, hundreds of spam filters and other programs designed to block e-mails?

It’s a whole new world online lately, in case you haven’t noticed and so how can YOU, as a small business person, artist, professional or fundraiser be visible when there’s so much going on that you can’t be found, let alone heard or seen?

Then from a consumer point of view, how do YOU keep from wasting valuable time to find exactly what you you’re looking for in a way that you feel safe from all the hype and

Debbie addresses that very subject in this video with David and Frank of Relativity. They agree from their own experiences and by studying how others are being successful, the answer lies in the relationship building and engagement capabilities that Web 2.0 offers. In fact they give specific examples of how people, businesses and educational entities are using blogs, RSS feeds, social networks, bookmarking, podcasting, videos and other tools to gain more attention.