5 Things Small Business Owners Should Do Today Online

September 14, 2009 · Comments

storefront In my neck of the woods, Mick Galuski is doing all kinds of little things to try out social media. He’s a comic shop owner. Every Wednesday, I get a direct message or a twitpic showing me the week’s comics that I’m really going to want to pick up. Awesome, personalized service!

I write quite often from the perspective of larger company social media and business communications. That’s because most of my clients are large companies. However, these social tools allow a small business owner a lot in the way of advantages, and I want to put together a little map of steps I might take if I were running a small business and wanted more sales.

5 Things Small Business Owners Should Do Today Online

  1. Start a blog – I can’t think of any simpler website technology to start and master, and there are cheap and free platforms readily available. Why a blog? Because they’re easy to create, because they’re easy to update, because they encourage repeat visits, and because you can use them in many flexible ways. Need a good website address (URL)? Pick a name out at Ajaxwhois.com, which lets you search many variations at the same time. Then, click through to buy the domain at GoDaddy.com, and then decide if you want to buy hosting there, or from another site. The company Bloghost.me, run by my friend Andy Quayle, offers $10/year hosting for WordPress blogs. I think that’s pretty reasonable. You?
  2. Start listening – People are talking about you. Find out where they are and who they are. When you’re done with that, start finding new business opportunities. People tweeting or blogging about being in your neck of the woods? Reach out, if it makes sense. Free advice on how to grow bigger ears.
  3. Try Twitter OR Facebook – Let’s not rush things. Facebook has many more users, but it’s a bit harder to find customers, prospects, partners and colleagues. Twitter is easier to use and faster to connect with people, but there are far fewer users on there today. I’ll let you choose. If you go with Facebook, make a personal account under your own name, and then start a fan page for your business.
  4. Get the word out – If you’re going to spend time building these social sites, let’s presume that you want more people to contact you and interact with you through them. Print business cards with the company name, and/or the request for people to join your fan page or follow you on Twitter. Extra points if you give them a social-media-tool-only discount of some kind.
  5. Try moving the needle – now lets really get crazy. See if you can fill the place up with social-media minded folks. Okay, this won’t work for every business, but don’t be too quick to count out the idea. Let’s try inviting them to a store-only special event, or let’s give them a discount code. You know, the stuff you already know how to do. Any difference in the results? See if you can do some kind of really special one-day-only push, and what that brings to you.

There’s obviously much more to it than just starting and doing, or is there? One way that small businesses get all confused and thrown for a loop is by feeling a strong sense of analysis paralysis, or that notion that they should be using all the tools right out of the gate.

The reason I started with a blog is that it will give instant search juice to the organization. It doesn’t mean your company will rise to the very top listing right away, and there’s so much more to it than that, but starting with any presence is better than having none.

The Most Important Part

A good 15,000 of you reading this already know the above. You get it. Here’s my request: pass this on to a small business owner you know. If you think it’s reasonable advice, pass it on to someone who hasn’t really started yet, and then offer to help them get it off the ground.

Sound fair? That’s why I wrote it. I’d love for your help.

Photo credit freeparking

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  • I'm active in the local chamber of commerce of our little Shenandoah Valley town. ALL of the members are small businesses, and I plan to share this with everyone. From my "introduction" to you, the marketing director of the community bank on whose board I serve has bought your book and subscribed to your blog! In these hard times, I am convinced that the principles and values you espouse are going to be trademarks of the survivors.
  • Thanks so much for the support, Elizabeth. I appreciate you a great deal. : )
  • Trina Johnson
    I wholeheartedly agree. I'm really working on mastering social networking and then passing on the info to my clients/contacts. I do believe business promotion can be done effectively and efficiently on the web.
  • michaeltclark
    I agree that this is all great advice (which is exactly what I personally have come to rely upon Chris to provide) - as always, Chris, thanks for doing what you do.

    However, my experience with BlogHost.Me, which I decided to try out this morning at your suggestion, was disappointing. Upon going to their site (tubu.net/blogger) and filling out the online forms for purchasing the $10 annual service, I was sent along to Paypal for payment, where the transaction immediately ended - there was/is no facility for actually paying "Tubu Internet Solutions" (as their usually is under such circumstances) - and no way to return to Tubu to complete the transaction. An attempted call to their 877 support number (the one advertised on their sign-up form) resulted in a "number no longer in service" message. An email to their support inbox resulted in a "we'll get back to you" sort of message.

    Just thought you should know what the *real world* user experience was looking like for this outfit....
  • Hi Michael--

    That's interesting. I just bought a website for my daughter there last week and it worked slick as anything. Ping @andyquayle on Twitter? Maybe he can answer. If you're still stuck, drop me an email: blog at chrisbrogan . com, and I'll get Andy to reach out and solve the issue.

    Sorry for your trouble.
  • michaeltclark
    Chris,

    Thanks very much for your note - much appreciated. I just posted an
    update to my *slightly unhappy* original post on your site explaining
    that Tubu's support folks actually jumped on my problem immediately
    and took care of me. Looks like there's some sort of problem with
    Tubu's API hooks into Paypal not working properly (Tubu thinks the
    problem is actually on Paypal's side). Anyway, they had me forward
    them the annual fee directly from Paypal (so, by-passing their online
    forms), and I had an account up and running in less than an hour.

    All's well now - thanks again,

    Michael.
  • Hey Chris-

    I'll ping him on Twitter as well, but I had the same experience with phone number being invalid, which I have to admit spooks me a bit. Otherwise, sounds like a great service I'd be interested in using for multiple sites.
  • michaeltclark
    Update on Tubu: these guys quickly redeemed themselves - they responded immediately to my email explaining the problems I had with their site and had my hosting service set up in less than an hour. It *looks like* the issue is with Paypal's APIs - but no matter, this outfit did what needed to be done and I'm now up and running as a result. Nice save!
  • Hi Chris,
    Great advice. I discovered (in the past couple of months) that for small business people, the best advice I can give them about Social Media is to pick one activity, get really good at it, then add more. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and a blog as the hub, is more than most can handle at the beginning. B2B business owners need a LinkedIn profile, and B2C businesses need a Facebook profile, even if they don't focus on it too much at the beginning. I make sure their blog posts flow into both so they are kept fresh. It works!
  • thomsinger
    The other thing that small business owners must do is to reflect on their own rationalizations. Many are scared of the unknown, and social media is a big unknown. Thus they toss out the whole idea and claim things like "I don't have time" -- or "That does not work with my type of business". You can miss a lot of opportunities by making excuses. The most successful entrepreneurs I know always do new things (not just "try" to quote YODA). If you sit on the sidelines and wait for you competitor to test the waters, you might just let them own the hearts and minds of the customers.
  • gerardmclean
    Two things:
    1) WHAT is more important than WHY in social media. If I can get a small business just doing these few things, in 6 months they understand the WHY. If I spend 2 hours explaining the WHY, they never do it. Trust is important at the first stage.

    2) Don't forget in small business ultimately, it is about answering phones, making pizza. Followers and friends don't matter if they ain't buying anything.
    http://www.dogwalkblog.com/2009/01/22/businesse...
  • As a small business owner, thanks for the advice & the reminder to get going! I have to tackle #1 (haven't started) while continuing to become more proficient in the rest of the items. For some reason starting a blog has been the hardest for me to tackle & I obviously need to. WordPress is the best & easiest to use for blogs? I would not learn as much as I do without following on Twitter. Thanks for the posts.
  • Hi Sarah--

    I prefer WordPress, but others find Blogger.com or Tumblr.com just as easy. WordPress is a hair better, in my mind, because of how it boosts search efforts (the details of this are somewhat tricky for me to explain) and because it's very customizable. TypePad is also an alternative. I picked one software just to make it easier on others.
  • Sarah. Wordpress is very easy to use but I wouldn't concern myself with which platform is the easiest to use but which is the best overall blogging platform. IMO, Wordpress is by far the best for lots of reasons including SEO, the plethora of themes available, and the ton of excellent plugins.
  • Great advice. When youhave no idea how to begin, your list is doable and not too overwhelming - but smart.
  • As always, straight forward advice. I will definitely pass it along. Thanks Chris!
  • You're welcome.
  • jonathanfields
    Love these 5, Chris. I've been talking with a lot of small biz about this, too. I might add a 6th tip, too, to help adjust expectations if that wouldn't be too bold...

    6. Breath. Social media is unlike traditional advertising or marketing in that you can't just pay for instant access/exposure to a market. In all but the rarest occasions, it takes time to build the population of people you're communicating with. But once there, you've got a community you can converse with over time for free instead of an audience you broadcast to in paid increments.
  • Really good point, Jonathan. Don't expect the cash register to ring on the second day. : )
  • Great advice - and I also like the simplicity of it. I have a friend starting a new business, knows he wants to get into social media and simply said "he doesn't have time." Of course not - running a business is hard work. But these are a few steps to not overwhelm him. Just sent it to him and a few others. Thanks!
  • Sorry folks - I do not agree here. People need to realize that as great as social media (can't stand the phrase) is it is not necessarily something every person or company should be doing. Chris missed the marked on this. Shouldn't someplace there be the basics in there like "Get a website" "Buy a domain" "Put your product online" "Explain your USP". Social media should work someplace into the marketing and sales plan, and then only when appropriate. It may be that this is not a place a particular business, large or small, should not be spending anytime.

    Patrick Allmond

    p.s. I team SM101 classes, and I get paid to help people research and setup SM channels
  • Of course there are more steps involved. My point was, there's a simple starter set to get things moving. I'm sure your classes are far more detailed. My point was to be brief and descriptive. You're right that there are more pieces to the puzzle, Patrick. Glad you rang in.
  • Scott
    I don't believe the list was supposed to be all inclusive of everything that should be done, but a list of the top 5 things that you could do today, easily, if you were already a small business owner.

    Even with all the attention social media is getting today, there are still tons of small businesses that are not leveraging the web to its fullest potential. These are people that do have websites, do have domains names, and hopefully already know their USP.

    A savvy business owner could look at this list in the morning, and implement most if not all 5 options before the end of the day. It's a good starting point
  • Excellent stuff. I would add do some keyword analysis. Head over to http://google.com/insights/search . This will help you understand the words the people use when looking for your products/services. It may help you decide where to participate.

    Also measure. What is working for your business? Learn to love Google Analytics. What are your KPIs for the excercise? If you are just trying to learn, then a KPI will be "what you have learned". Understand why you are doing these things. You'll then begin to find what works for you and where you should be spending your time.
  • Hi Jim--

    I'm curious how many small businesses, like pizza shops, do keyword analysis. I mean, they should, but do you really get the sense that they are?

    --Chris...
  • Maybe not formally. But we all do keyword analysis in our head :-) Some of easiest phrases to be ranked in Google for are ones with Geo-descriptors. If I'm looking for a local supplier I 'm going to use a local town name. Roosevelt Park Pizza or whatever. Roosevelt Park Pizza home delivered or delivery should I rank for. I would also add Google maps entry :-)
  • A powerful list, indeed. Thank you. I talk to many small business owners that claim they "don't have time" for social media or "non-traditional" advertising, but I'll tell them you "don't NOT have time for it" and to just crawl before they run. Some begin to see the value in that while others grudgingly remain on the sidelines; I have some better persuading to do. :)
  • ProfS on Twitter
    Thanks, Chris - doing an intro seminar for an older demographic later this month; just perfect for that!
  • I didn't know the illness I had was "analysis paralysis" but I have been afflicted with it for some time. Thanks for offering the cure, Chris.
  • Thanks Chris! I know that small business owners are often overwhelmed when planning to take their business online.
    This post has successfully simplified the first things to do, and defused much of the anxiety involved.
    I will definitely share and discuss this with my team, and pass it on to all my contacts:)
  • I have the small business in mind that would be perfect for this: a local salon and spa. The owners aren't that computer savvy so it's a slow sell. I did get them a website going though!
  • Thanks for this post. As you know I launched my blog (and website) last week and my business in its current configuration is fairly new. I’ve been doing a lot of listening – especially on Twitter. I’ve joined in a bit but have felt fuzzy about how to best establish myself there. I started following a lot of marketers and social media experts like yourself and various people began following me (mostly it seems to get followed themselves). So here I find myself in the midst of mentors or marketing peers listening to them all talk to each other. Cool and interesting but not doing a thing for my business. I’m not sure if I have even one potential customer following me or that I am following. I’ve tried doing searches on Twitter but finding it frustrating and non-productive so far. I am baffled as to how to find my target customers on Twitter. For me that would be small business owners and solo entrepreneurs in almost any business that needs new or updated marketing material. Any suggestions?
    Thanks!
  • You're searching Twitter for people who need marketing materials. Do I have that right? If so, you might want to try searching in more traditional streams. The people who need your help the most probably aren't yet on Twitter. They've heard about it, but aren't here yet. You might try instead to find them at local events. Start checking at Chamber meetings, at face-to-face events hosted via meetup.com and more.

    The people who matter to you might not yet be here in an easy-to-find way.
  • Thanks for validating my hunch about where I need to hang out. I'm right on track then..as I am doing the face-to-face networking - at business events and everywhere I go. Got several solid leads at the Newburyport Farmer's Market!
  • Spot On!
    if someone is still skeptic, please consider reading this article (welcome to the twitterhood) with plenty of real-life of examples http://www.lohud.com/article/2009909130337
  • I'd like to add that at times I think small business owners think they don't have the time to do these things an that is tough to over come. One of the very simple things I tell a small business is to make sure they can be found in local searches. Make sure they have registered with Google, Yahoo and Bing on a local level. Another thing might be to purchase a local style domain. For instance if your shop is called Clarke's Pets and it's located in Buffalo see if you can buy the URL 'BuffaloPets'. Put ONE obvious call to action on the site like a printable coupon. These are easily tracked by the owner and will begin to prove out the digital space. Whats nice about optimizing the site and generating locally targeted traffic first is that when the shop owner or employee does begin to use social media tools then everything amplifies. I have been talking to a few local shop owners myself. Here are the steps:

    1. Create a measurable call to action on their site.
    2. Ping the Major search engines on a local level.
    3. Purchase an obvious local URL and create a redirect to the existing URL.
    4. Set up a blog that I encourage the shop owners to add value to their community with.

    Key: Don't forget the basics before jumping into social media. Make the time spent ~ Time well spent.
  • Thanks for the great advice. I like your talking points and the way you summarized this. I'm passing this on to others I know. Thanks.
  • Excellent advice Chris. The overwhelming tendency for beginners to sprint before they walk is what causes so many to rush into failures. Become a content-builder, branch out, engage, and listen. RB
  • Karen
    Thanks for sharing what you know and defining some straight forward steps for new business owners! Question: If a new business already has a website, is it best to have their blog as part of the website, or best to have it somewhere else?
  • Great post Chris, I think these are excellent starting points. We noticed a huge increase in web presence just by starting a blog (a free one, on blogger, did the trick). Linking back to Twitter through the blog, and vice versa, keeps our potential customers aware of how to reach us. I think the important thing for small businesses is to start ANYWHERE, a baby step is still a step, right?
  • Nice post Chris. You explained it in a short simple way that makes this easy to forward onto clients. I'm going to shoot this out to a few of them.
  • I work with people just getting started in business and lists like this are exactly what they need. Small actionable lists with specifics.
  • caroompas
    Great advice, Chris. I've passed your entry on to a friend who runs a small town guitar shop, Good Stuff Guitars in Martinez, CA. I think there's a lot of use he can find in your five suggestions. Thanks.
  • Certainly advice that I'll be passing along to a few other people alright Chris. I've been engaging for quiet a while and I've got my personal blog on the way tomorrow :-)
  • gelwell
    Thanks Chris for taking a swing at applying social media to small business. I think many of the principles from large and national or global business applies to small, local business, just on a different scale.

    On step 2, listening, I like to encourage my small business / local business clients to start a search on Twitter (http://search.twitter.com) even before starting up an account, or before they start blogging. Search for your industry terms, names of cities in markets served, look for names of other local businesses and see how they're using it etc., then drop those searches in an RSS reader.

    You can also use tools like TweepSearch and TwitSeeker to search bios and tweets for these key words. Once you get some of these searches saved you can start listening and find out what's going on, gain insights, ID gaps and opportunities and get a sense of how you might join and be useful.

    I think the process for social media marketing for local / small business is: Listen...Plan...Account/Tools Setup...Engage...Measure...Repeat.
  • As a small business owner that entered the social media fray about 9 months ago... This is a really good list to start, but a daunting one too. I still have trouble with the blogging end, but find that twitter is a great starting point because you only have a few characters to consider. I'm not sure if my business has improved directly from my efforts but I do know that my brain has changed, and the language I use has changed. I use words more efficiently when I speak now. I have learned so much about me, my business, and my customers directly from my SM efforts, I can't stop now.
  • beckymccray
    I'm glad Keith Burtis brought out the need to be findable in local search. My liquor store's Google Local profile usually gets more views than its website.

    Overcoming the "I don't have time for one more thing!" objection is tough. So help them reclaim some time by using that new blog to answer customers' frequently asked questions. You'll prevent some phone calls that way. Use video to show how to use your products, like United Linen showing how to change the roll in the new automatic paper towel dispensers. It's simple, but it saves a lot of customer service rep time.
  • Becky I decided to write about it in-depth here: http://keithburtis.com/2009/09/14/4-simple-digi...
  • Rebecca12
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  • This is good advice. I am doing all of these things to promote my websites, but getting traffic to my website is still a slow process. Any more advice?

    -Nikki-
  • Lee
    Excellent advice Chris! I work for a small business and excellent SEO skills are essential. Keywords that google pics up from a website someone creates are a great way to begin getting exposure. Good read.
  • Lee
    picks*
  • Before anything, how about registering a domain name and having an email address. Nothing looks more unprofessional than a business having a @gmail or @yahoo email address.
  • adamss
    I hope that i have learnt something new with this blog.
  • Rebecca12
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  • adamss
    I think this blog is useful to me.
  • patricia1
    I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

    Patricia

    http://dataentryjob-s.com
  • wesley
    It's important that small business owners use a wide variety of methods to promote their website. Blogging, social networks, article directories, online forums, and other posts are all great ways to generate free web traffic. For more information about online business and a free affiliate e-course visit http://www.theeasyincomepro.com.
  • Hi Chris
    Thanks for this great post.
    I share restaurant marketing.. online (social media) ideas with
    small independent and franchise restaurants and I find it a perfect article that explains why they need to also
    focus on marketing their business on the internet..
    I would be happy to share this post. Thanks
    Nash @iRestaurant
  • Samantha
    This is great advice. People wonder why their small businesses are failing, its because they aren't keeping up with the times. Why doesn't anyone come to your new shops? Because no one knows about it! Why? Because you're not anywhere to tell anyone! Get connected and today being connected to people means facebook, twitter, blogging, etc. People are not going to come to you! You have to come to them, and they're not far, just a few clicks of the internet away!
  • Chris, I've got to say that I flat disagree. Small business have a different problem than medium or large ones, because resources don't scale downward, and there's not enough bandwidth to do a site, or a blog, work Facebook, and work to build your identity and reputation that way.

    They need to do Identity Optimization not SEO, and the directory sites are the place to start. And they need to do Reputation management and the review sites are the place where they should be spending time interacting with customers. Once those are don, sure, do a blog, use facebook - but most small businesses don't have the time.

    I did a presentation on this a while ago, and am poking at expanding it...
  • But How to move the needle? Any steps to be followed?
  • I quite often hear "what can I do to produce more consistent leads?" My answer is BLOG - niche out your blog and become the market leader.
  • You have got to see this - my friend @TimFahndrich has launched something called Gateway - he has http://www.GatewaytoSalem.com which gives local business tools of blog, podcast, video and a printable coupon all in one portal area where business owners can take advantage of each others traffic.
  • Hi Chris,

    I guess the good news for me after reading this, I'm already doing 3 out 5 of those things. Which are, I've started a blog, I'm using Twitter & Facebook, and I've been doing some listening.

    I just need to start doing 4 & 5 now.

    Great info, Chris.

    Paul.
  • patricia1
    I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

    Patricia

    http://dataentryjob-s.com
  • bakirtzi
    Very useful advices! I liked the last paragraph "The most Important Part" ...because the most important part of our life is to help each other! Thanks Chris for your great help!
  • simple, logical advice which is easy to follow and WILL make a difference... small steps will soon become giant leaps and social media will help small businesses reconnect with the prospective markets and audience. there are always going to be more things involved - websites, ecommerce etc, but the methods explained above are simple to do and if done properly will not waste time. You have to start somewhere and it's my view that this article and the points raised is a good place for that to happen.
  • Another great article that really does deserve to be spread around.

    The challenge, at least from my point of view, is that I deal with many well established small businesses who, despite my best efforts, will just not invest time and effort into their business on the web.

    Oh well, I shall keep up my social media evangelism by using such excellent articles as this one.
  • Thanks Chris for a great post and for writing Trust Agents.
  • I used to think I could only handle Twitter or FaceBook efficiently, not both. PeopleBrowsr has changed all of that. I can use them very selectively and make my social networking time efficient, cost effective and most of all, appropriate for each individual forum. Have you tried it?
  • billbliss
    Chris, great advice for a small business owner. May I add another element? It is important for the small business owner, who by their very nature are doing a lot of tasks themselves, to have a plan and the discipline to stick to the plan of doing what you have suggested.
  • pattifousek
    One other way to get over the "analysis paralysis" is to have a plan. Let's use a blog as an example. Many small business owners think they have "nothing to blog about" or they "don't have time." When I consult with small business owners on blogs, we always start by brainstorming possible topics - which when you start thinking about it, there could be a ton. We then create an editorial calendar for the first three months so that they get used to the idea of building blogging into their regular activities. I even have a client who creates a weekly "meeting" for herself in Outlook designating that time for blogging activities. This tactic works for her, but for many small business owners, even writing one blog post a month is enough. I always tell my clients to start slow and work on a schedule that is right for them.
  • pattifousek
    One other way to get over the "analysis paralysis" is to have a plan. Let's use a blog as an example. Many small business owners think they have "nothing to blog about" or they "don't have time." When I consult with small business owners on blogs, we always start by brainstorming possible topics - which when you start thinking about it, there could be a ton. We then create an editorial calendar for the first three months so that they get used to the idea of building blogging into their regular activities. I even have a client who creates a weekly "meeting" for herself in Outlook designating that time for blogging activities. This tactic works for her, but for many small business owners, even writing one blog post a month is enough. I always tell my clients to start slow and work on a schedule that is right for them.
  • Taking this post and "Driving to Sales" to Honduras, next week. Link each to my prezo, "Hello World! We are Honduras." Dead simple.

    Thanks, Chris.
  • Small Businesses really need to learn and take advantage of all that the online world has to offer for business promotion. I would recommend starting with a strategy that implements the items listed. There are so many things that can be done, you don't want to get overwhelmed and give up.
  • BobPoole
    Listen First - Sell Later is awesome advice. Like you, I think HubSpot is an excellent tool for small business to accomplish much of what you have listed here including listening and seeing who is talking about you. I'm not an affiliate nor do I get paid by them. I have clients that are testing it and we've seen great results.
  • Very sound advice, Chris. Amazing what can happen to your business growth when you start paying attention to your core audience. I think more people should "shut-up and listen."
  • I happen to agree with you Chris, except I don’t think the actual size of either Twitter or Facebook (Since they are both massive) are going to have much consequence for the average small business owner. A greater emphasis should be placed on demographics and niche’ prospects. I’m also not yet convinced of the effectiveness of Facebook fan pages, particularly for small business owners in less glamorous industries i.e. Law, Finance, Maintenance etc.

    I don't know why my blogs aren't showing up in the pingback but I further explored your point on the Referral Key blog.

    Cheers,
    Chris O.
    @referralkey
  • It is amazing that there is huge opportunity for people who can help small businesses leverage the internet. That is exciting for anyone involved in social media or internet marketing.
  • Thanks Chris. Just sent this to a colleague of mine in Miami in the Yacht Insurance business who has been skirting around improving his Web presence. Hope this will get him to finally move. Much appreciated.
  • Problems registering at tubu.net here were the results:
    Domain reg was fine, they are affiliated with godaddy on backend and process was smooth.
    $10 Bloghost.me not smooth. After filling out order form, they would take Paypal only. When I logged in paypal, the autopopulate "Send Money" did not work, so had no idea what email to send $10 to. Called the two Bloghost.me phone numbers 877-326-3272 and 412-223-2512 and both were reported disconnected.
    My next move was to change my paypal password.
    Suggestion: Pass on tubu.net and use godaddy.com for domains and rochen.com for hosting @ $8 / mo. Guess you get what you pay for.
  • Andy
    Tubu Internet Solutions is completely legitimate.
    Which support page were you seeing the disconnected numbers on?
  • 877-326-3272 and 412-223-2512 was on pages
    http://www.tubu.net/blogger/
    http://tubu.net/v8/?page_id=3

    but today you have a different number Phone (412) 567 7836
    which is fine. Glad to QA it for you.

    Not implying it is not legitimate. Just needs work to be production ready.
  • Chris,

    Definitely sound advice. I actually learned something a little extra here. I'd seen you tweet about DISQUS but didn't know how it worked. Since I'm using it on your site, now I get it! (I always learn best through doing!)
  • KC
    These are great pieces of advice. Especially the blog, it's so easy. And if you use Twitter correctly you should be able to get a lot out of it, especially if you network with other business owners and learn from them. The only thing I would add is that $10 for a blog is a little much. You can get blogging packages for as little as $2.99 from http://www.TheBlueKingdom.com
  • Great advice (as always). I think it is really important for small business owners to tackle one thing at a time. Take on too much and it doesn't gte updated or they don't understand what they are doing. Small business owners are usually REALLY busy too and don't have much time to give to this stuff initially, they usually want to see some ROI to convence them.
  • patricia1
    I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

    Patricia

    http://dataentryjob-s.com
  • Excellent piece for any business owner to read. As a small business owner who has added social media to our toolbox within the last 4 months, I could only add that you have to give it time to develop. Be consistent with your voice, and you will develop a loyal following. Thanks again Chris!
  • Interesting article here. I think all small businesses should at the very least have a website. Working in asia, you'll be surprised at the number of small business owners who neglected their websites or feel that it is not important to have one.
  • theresasheridan
    I've been pounding the internet pavement HARD the past 6 weeks or so, trying to make up for lost time. I'm a late bloomer, I guess, but getting the hang of it! Still trying to figure out how to grow bigger ears though.......
    There's so much information out there....this must be what it feels like to be 5 years old and learning so much 'stuff' all at one time!
  • I like what you said.
  • Hi Chris. Nice post with good advice. The only point I would add is an emphasis on having small business owners sit down and develop specific goals and an initial social media strategy before engaging in these tactics. A business owner should ask himself or herself "What do we want to accomplish with social media" and then can be in a better position to answer that question with the appropriate social media tactics.
  • markallenroberts
    Passing this along to all my clients, I have said it, but perhaps they will listen to you.

    Also, far too many small businesses think it’s about "more" sales...it's not!

    What you really want is to "create sales Velocity" as discussed in my blog post: http://nosmokeandmirrors.wordpress.com/2009/09/...

    Everything you do above must attract the right customers.

    Mark Allen Roberts
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  • Thanks for the great articles. Yes, I am one of the 15,000 that already knew everything you wrote, but serves a good reminder or even accountability to hear it again.

    Have a great day!
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