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We hope you find this arcthve useful. A subscription to The Small Business Advisor Newsletter is free. Subscribe now - it's easy! The Small Business Advisor Newsletter for MAY, 2002 ======================== E-mail is wonderful and very, very useful. We all know that. But it’s changing. Problems that didn’t exist before, do now – sort of like the telephone. Everyone has heard about spamming and other junk e-mails. This problem has grown to giant proportions and shows no sign of improving. There is also the problem of viruses that can be carried by innocent e-mail messages. To combat these problems a number of manufacturers have developed software that will help filter non-wanted messages and alert you to viruses. Since nearly all of us use e-mail in our small businesses we need to remember how recipients deal with e-mail these days and act accordingly. Here are a few “rules of the road.” 1) Don’t EVER spam. Period. 3) Try not to use the word “free” in the subject line for the same reason as noted above. 4) Make sure you have properly setup the “From” address in your e-mail program. Check it my sending yourself an e-mail. 5) Don’t send e-mail to your customers unless it’s really necessary – everyone is receiving so much junk e-mail that you will only irritate the recipient. 6) Don’t send e-mail with large attachments unless specifically requested. A large attached file can hang up someone’s e-mail for quite a long time. ======================== One of the primary concerns all small businesses have is saving money. When it's time to trim the fat, most look for one giant expense to decrease or eliminate in order to stay within budget. More often than not, it doesn't work that way. Most budgeting experts will tell you that re-evaluating your overall expenses and cutting each by just a bit will actually gain you more ground than doing without something major that you really need. Here are a few ideas of areas to look at and costs to reduce that can have a major impact on your overall profits. 1) Internet Access - Every online business owner must have access to the Web. But consider this. The market is so flooded with ISPs that you have a lot of room to dicker. Start by searching the Internet under keywords like "cheap internet access" or "discount isp" to bring up lists of possibilities. Then, do one of two things. (a) Try some of these independent ISPs. Smaller companies can have high quality service and support just like the "big boys". One business owner I know recently switched from Prodigy ($21.95/mth) to a smaller ISP that only charges $12.50/mth with no contracts. She actually liked the new provider better and it costs her about half as much. [Savings of $113.40 per year.] (b) Renegotiate with your existing ISP. Most larger ISPs know you have a choice of a thousand other companies. Because of this, they are normally more than willing to renegotiate your costs. Be honest. Tell them you are a small business owner and you need to cut expenses. Explain that you've been pleased with their service but will be forced to go with someone else if some sort of arrangement isn't worked out. Another friend of mine did this and received 6 months free! Most will offer 2-3 months free and/or a discount with an annual agreement. NOTE: When you approach your ISP, be fully prepared to switch to someone else if your offer is rejected. [Savings of $105.80 per year with 3 months free and reduced, annual rate.] 2) Switch From A Merchant Account To A Payment Service - If you have a low volume of credit card transactions, it might benefit you to switch from a merchant account to some sort of payment service like Pay Pal or ClickBank. Statement fees, monthly fees, discount percentages and the like can all add up to big money. While payment services normally have reduced fees, they do have higher "per transaction" costs so you'll have to do some math to find out if this is a good idea for your business. Just take an "average" invoice amount from a sale and multiply it times 12 to get a base total to work with. Now, add in your 12 months worth of fees for statement, monthly access, discount percentage, per transaction cost, etc. This is your "example" total. Do the same with several payment services using their costs to see which one, over time, would be less expensive for you. If you were paying a $15 statement fee, $20 monthly fee, 3% + $.35 per transaction and $25 monthly gateway fee, your annual expenses would be $742.20 for an average transaction of $50.00. Your annual fees for a payment service with 3.5%, $1.00 per transaction and a one-time $50.00 set up charge would only be $83.00 per year. [Savings of $659.20 per year.] 3) Re-evaluate Your Long Distance Costs - Competition is the small business owner's friend! With hundreds of long distance companies out there, you can drastically reduce your charges instantly. Again - use the 'Net to search for inexpensive long distance service. A business owner I know changed from a MCI "program" to one of those 10-10 companies and reduced her per minute charge from $ .07 to $ .05. Depending on the volume of calls you make, some programs offer rates as low as $ .03 per minute. [Estimated savings of $20-$30 per year for 1,000 minutes.] From just these three little things, we've saved an estimated $802.60 per year. That's enough to make anyone's spreadsheet sing! Go through your list of costs and you will most likely find other expenses that can easily be reduced with a bit of research and a phone call or two. Visit Diane Hughes, editor of the popular ProBizTips Newsletter, at http://viralmarketzone.com/diane ======================== (Great Advice by Dr. Nunley – this works! … ed) Want a FREE way to promote your business to thousands in your area? How about a free way to market to customers nationwide? Talk radio gives you both at zero cost. Before I started DrNunley.com, I worked across the hall from a talk radio station. The lobby was constantly filled with people who were appearing as guests on talk shows. What an interesting group! I met the Governor, rock stars, famous writers, everyday people promoting causes, and a whole assortment of accountants, gardeners, financial planners, realtors, crafts people, and educators. For every famous person who stepped up to the mic, there were 20 "regular" experts on every issue you can think of. These were local business owners, professionals, and workers who had interesting information the radio audience would find helpful. Guests usually aren't allowed to turn their on-air appearances into self-serving ads (that's what paid commercials are for), but no guests leaves without grabbing a considerable amount of promotional benefit for themselves. Guests almost always get a chance to share their phone number, email address, office location, or web site URL. There is no shortage of talk show opportunities. Talk stations number in the thousands throughout the US and Canada. Many more radio stations have a Sunday morning talk show. First find one or two stations in your area. Listen to the shows and become familiar with the hosts and the topics they like to cover. Next, CALL or EMAIL the radio station and talk with the host or producer. You can get station contact info from the yellow pages. You may be able to get an email address that goes directly to the host. Most stations have web sites you can search for and easily find. Tell the host what subject you specialize in. You don't have to be a world-class expert, just have some helpful tips the audience will be interested in. A day care owner could talk about how to keep small kids busy while Mom or Dad works at home. An accountant or lawyer might give tips for saving on taxes or fighting an IRS audit. Somebody who does a lot of fishing could talk about favorite lakes and bait. If your topic relates to something already in the news, hooray for you! Pass GO and collect $200. The media LOVE to find a local expert who can give a local angle on a national news headline. Make sure you point out your connection with the news when you call the station. What should you worry about when you go on the air? Joe Shafran, who has helped thousands of people get on talk shows, says to go to the bathroom and get a drink of water. Other than that, don't worry. Talk show hosts are nice professionals who will help walk you through your visit. Relax and speak clearly... and don't forget to mention your phone number and web site at the end. After your appearance is over, go home or back to your office and write a thank you note to the host. Not many people do this and radio folks really appreciate it. A handwritten thank you goes miles toward getting you asked back again and again. Now that you've mastered the local scene, go nationwide! You can find radio stations by searching media for various cities. Also go to the Radio and Records web site at http://www.rronline.com R&R is the main trade publication for the radio industry. You can find more links to radio station web sites there. Call and email stations to set up your appearance. You can do interviews by telephone. Call the day before your appearance to remind the host or producer. It's also a good idea to call about 15 minutes before your appearance to make sure everything is set. Radio moves very quickly, so it's a good idea to follow up several times to make sure you haven't been forgotten or moved. Without good, interesting guests, talk radio shuts down. They NEED you. Also consider music morning shows that do a lot of talking. DJs often welcome outrageous or funny guests. Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice and copy writing. Visit him at http://DrNunley.com or kevin@drnunley.com. Return to top of page - Back to Home Page - Back to Archive Index |