Today’s guest post is written by Margie Clayman. Have you ever watched The Princess Bride ? If not, you really need to get on that. Go ahead. ll wait for you. Just kidding. Now for the rest of you, I’m sure you know and remember Miracle Max , the character played by Billy Crystal and a lot of make-up. Max is the one who tells Andre the Giant and friends that Wesley (played by Cary Elwes) is only mostly dead. He further points out (and logically so) that if you are only mostly dead, you are partially alive. This scene comes to mind often when I am navigating the online waters. No, no, no. MORE >>

 The following is an article I wrote for the ”Rock Your Biz” Blogging Competition on BizSugar. Please click the “Rock Your Biz” button to your left or the BizSugar button below to help me make it to the top! Thank you kindly. Approachability Uniqueness Expertise and credibility Positive attitude Consistency Open-mindedness Transparency Leadership and community [.]. Branding Social Media Tips entrepreneurs Small businesses social media marketing MORE >>

If you want to see the future of marketing, just take a look at recent job postings. Recruiters increasingly request such new generation skills as SEO, analytics, mobile, social media and content in lieu of mass media and direct mail acumen, for example. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects marketing payrolls to swell by at least 13 percent between 2010 and 2020. So what does this shift in desired skills mean for the industry? What new positions to experts expect will be created during that time period? Here are five of the most common new roles they envision. MORE >>

Your customers are looking to buy your product or service, but why should they choose you? As a responsible consumer, they do research online, read industry magazines, and ask their colleagues and friends about it. They have narrowed their search down to you and your number one competitor. Imagine they visit your competitor’s website and your competitor gives them the basic manufacturer specs or product details. The site contains stock photography and a few generic sentences about performance as well as links to a few customer reviews. You could offer the same. What do I mean by this? MORE >>

A little while ago, I wrote about the terrible advice Jay Goltz gave to small business owners about social media , and what advice he should have given. Today while I was reading American Express OPEN Forum I came across another article with some bad advice to small business owners. Barry Moltz’s  “How to Calm Your Social Media Anxiety”  article misguides business owners into the type of thinking that actually makes them ineffective with social media. Here Barry’s advice: 1. Remember, it’s promotion. Don’t be confused. The 4Ps are Product, Price, Promotion, Place.) MORE >>