ACRBO Sep Mag by Association of Computer Repair Business Owners

WHAT’S INSIDE Computers, Networking, Websites, Advertising, Marketing & Sales ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

ACRBO MAG

The Owen Lea Foundation…. Let’s Make A Difference!

Page 12

Featured Member…Alan Seymour… Kaplet Technology Solutions Page 8

ACRBO contents 3

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Letter Welcome to the August edition.

Regular Columns 2

ACRBO Inbox Got something to say? Tell us what you think.

Communicating With Your Followers

Utilizing Internet Marketing

Featured Member Alan Seymour

The Owen Lea Foundation

2012 ACRBO Membership Drive

Your Business Checkup

News

E-mail Marketing

ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

If you have not checked in awhile you might want to log into the Association website to see what new Preferred Vendors have joined the team. We continually are looking for valued vendors to bring aboard and your emails are appreciated.

Would you like to have an article published each month in the magazine? If so drop us a line and let us know what kind of article you can provide on a monthly basis. All articles will need to be submitted the 3rd week of the month. Email: Dan@acrbo.com

Have a product or service youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re interested in selling? If so drop us a line.

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ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

ACRBO editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s letter Welcome to the Association of Computer Repair Business Owners Magazine. As you see the layout of the Holiday threw off having the magazine published in time magazine has and for that I apologize. This month we have some great changed once content on what you can do to improve your business again. and hopefully become even more successful. Unfortunately Jon is not going to be A publication like this would not be possible without the able to edit the support of our valued advertisers who provide relevant magazines future products and services for our readership. Please visit issues. our sponsors as they know what you need to help you As some of you with all your endeavors. already know Lastly Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to congratulate you for investing your time graphics are not my strong suit. But, to educate yourself by reading this magazine. We are proud to be able to help all our readers, and look forward we will continue to bring outstanding to serving you for many years to come. content which to me is what really Dan matters. ACRBO

ACRBO Magazine Fredericksburg Virginia Advertising enquires: Send an email to dan@acrbo.com Contribute articles: If you would like to be a contributing author for the magazine then send an email to dan@acrbo.com and let us know what you would like to write about. Copyright 2012 ACRBO. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated or converted into machine-readable form or language without the written consent of the publisher. Articles express the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher ACRBO Magazine Director: ACRBO dan@acrbo.com Contributors Various experts in their fields The instructions and advice in the Magazine is for entertainment purposes only. The creators, producers, contributors and distributors of the ACRBO Mag disclaim any liability for loss or lack of results from following the advice expressed herein

>> Talk to me dan@acrbo.com www.Facebook.com/acrbo www.acrbo.com

Keep your valuable feedback coming. I try to reply to every email, I appreciate your input as it helps to make the ACRBO magazine possible. Write to me at: dan@acrbo.com

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ACRBO inbox

iPhone repairs?

TOP EMAILS

Work with competitors? This question comes up a lot and it's usually a matter of a business owner not being able to perform some sort of repairs i.e. iPhone, DC jacks etc. My opinion is never to hand over work to others or refer to others if you are in the same location. I have done quite a few agreements with other shops for things like DC jacks that come into our shop and either we don't have time to fix them or whatever. In cases like this "we" take them to our competitor and thru an agreement we have they do the work and the customer remains ours. Reason behind this is simple; if I tell the customer to go to another shop then in the future there is a good chance they will remain with that shop. So potentially I could be turning away quite a lot of money. Dan ACRBO

ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

This has been a very active topic on weather or not to do these types of repairs. First and foremost you have to remember these are typically not going to be 5 minute jobs until you have quite a bit of experience and even then they probably won't be quick jobs. Plus, do you have the proper tools required to do these repairs. Lastly, and most important do you have the time. In our case right now we don't have the time. But, I have an agreement with someone local who does have the time and only does these types of repairs. So we can still take on the job and also make a profit. Dan ACRBO

Communicating With Your Followers Do your messages tend to be a little self-centered? Many people fall into a rut of producing content that is only self-promoting and "salesy." This is the worst possible way to build an online community. Don't just drone on about how fantastic you or your company is it's not as reliable coming from you as when other people say it anyways. Instead, try providing your followers with educational, valuable and engaging content. People are going to be much more willing to share educational information than a self-promoting or "salesy" message. So go ahead and set a goal to start creating content worth sharing. Are you a repeat offender? Nobody wants to be bombarded with the same message over and over again. Repeatedly posting similar messages will not only prevent new people from following you, but you might see a drop in your fan base. In theory it might seem like a good idea to remind people of an important message or try to reach new people who may have missed your first posting, but really you are just spamming your followers. There are a few occasions, such as event promotion, when you need to send similar messages over a couple months to remind your followers. But this is the exception not the standard. Don't think you can "sneak repeat" content by folks - most of us will remember and not be pleased. Be original each and every day, and for those days when you can't be original, don't post. Are your messages a little text heavy? One of the best attributes of social media networks is that it provides snap shot views on the latest news. People tune into your social media channel for quick updates. For those days when you have content that won't fit in the 140 character Twitter message, put your content in a blog post. Once the blog is ready send a short message through your social media accounts to check out your blog post. A short and catchy title in your social media message will help capture the attention of your followers. To keep your social media profile pages from getting too text heavy we recommend posting videos, photos, or links to content with photos in the headlines. These photos and videos will help break up the text on your profile pages and give visitors a quick glance at what you and your company are about. Keep your messages short and sweet, and post images to add some personality to your profile page.

Are you a social media spammer? We all have that friend who sends 10+ Facebook status updates a day. Don't become that friend or company that continuously spams its followers. Since there is no golden rule for the "appropriate" number of postings on social media accounts, it is recommended to check different sources to determine your optimal frequency. Here are a couple practices to find out what might work best for you. First, you can take a look at your competition and see how frequently they post and determine if they are building a good community with their schedule. Another idea is to research what people in the industry are saying about the recommended frequency on each platform. Recent studies have shown that people on Twitter expect to receive more updates than people on Facebook and that 5-10 Tweets a day is expected. Facebook is entirely different than Twitter when it comes to messaging frequency. With its current set-up it is pretty easy to tie up your Friend news feed with messages. So be respectful and try only posting Facebook updates a couple times a week up, or up to once a day. Lastly, try asking your loyal followers what they think about your social media communications. Do they feel like they could use more information or less? A blend of all these techniques above should help you find the right amount of frequency for sending messages on your social media platforms.

Social media accounts for 25% of all time spent online over 35 minutes per hour www.acrbo.com 5

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Utilizing Internet Marketing

SEO is by far one of the most effective tools in the internet marketing scope and can truly bolster traffic to your company’s site. The internet is a seemingly endless resource for a company of any size and, whilst the opportunity to reach out to millions of potential customers is certainly great, most companies will find they are met by stiff competition on the web. With so many companies now online it might be difficult to see how yours could ever stand out from the crowd. After all, what does your website have that others don’t? The key to it all is an effective internet marketing strategy. You need to utilise every tool and potential outlet you possibly can. The beauty of internet marketing is that it does not have to be expensive and can be accessed by any business of any size. Here are a few hints to steer your company towards a successful campaign. Firstly, make the most of cheap internet marketing tools before spending large amounts of advertising and web hosting. Social media has already become the ‘go to’ move for many large companies but it can still be accessed and used by a company of any size. Offer your potential customers something no one else can and get people talking about your company. Giving out a number of free samples is a great way to get people clambering to follow you on Twitter or Facebook.

Secondly, optimise and optimise well. With so much written on the internet about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), it is easy to believe you are quite the expert. Sadly, there is a whole science behind SEO and simply filling your homepage with keywords will not cut the mustard. Consider enlisting the help of an SEO company to truly boost you company’s performance on search engines or risk wasting valuable time on achieving very little. SEO is by far one of the most effective tools in the internet marketing scope and can truly bolster traffic to your company’s site. A lucrative relationship with an SEO company will establish your company’s site at the top of related searches and keep it there.

Blogging is another extremely effective internet marketing tool. A professionally written, well researched blog can be your company’s way of letting customers and potential customers see your ethos and passion for your industry. Over time, a good blog will build up a subscriber base as well as clock up a whole host of search engine traffic. What is more, your company will be able to share with the world any good news, awards or accolades it has picked up.

Finally, pay per click advertising also has potential as part of an internet marketing strategy. Whilst some experts will swear against it, pay per click campaigns can be an effective short term strategy to boost traffic to your site. In the same breath, it is essential you plan the campaign well as a poor choice of key words can end up costing your company a small fortune with very little returns. As before, enlist the help of professionals to ensure the best results for your company.

Whatever techniques you decide to incorporate into your company’s internet marketing plan it is essential you stand out from the crowd. Inspiration and imagination will help your company go far and be the difference between a very successful and a very expensive internet marketing campaign.

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ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Featured Member Name: Alan Seymour Business: KAPLET Technology Solutions Location: Indiana, PA Website: www.kapletinc.com

Family: I a married with 4 children, though one passed away as a baby. We miss him greatly. Education: Ph.D. in Psychology. What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be either an ATF agent or a Detective (Profiler). Worst job: Worked at McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for one day. First job: Mowing lawns around my neighborhood. How did you end up owning your business? I was teaching in Bangalore, India and became very sick, to the point they were not sure of my life. It took me one year to recover and while recovering I wanted to get into business and the opportunity presented itself to me. I love technology and it was a perfect fit. What is next for your business? We desire to continue to grow and offer new IT Solutions to the companies and individuals we serve. We are looking at adding some new social networking solutions, as well as new programs to be developed. Who was your hero as a child? My Grandfather.

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What business book do you recommend the most and why? This is actually a very hard question, because there are so many good ones out there, but from what I have read lately, I would say The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni. I would recommend all his books. What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a business right now? If you have family, make sure they are in agreement with you as it will take a lot of time. Make sure you enjoy what you are doing and that you always put the customer first, even when you think you are right. Customers are the key to our success. What are you most likely to be doing when not working? I can be found counseling those that cannot afford it, as I still want to use my degree. Otherwise I am with my family enjoying them. Lastly, I read like crazy. Where do you want to be five years from now? I want to continue the growth we have been experiencing currently, by offering more solutions and better service to our customers. Striving to be the best in our field, working with and learning from other technology solution companies. Who would you rather spend time with, Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs or Warren Buffett ? This is another tough one, because they all have their merits, but I think I would like to spend time with Warren Buffet because many business men seek out his advice from a variety of industries and he is very gifted in predicting the future of business growth.

If you would like your business to be featured in the ACRBO Magazine then drop us an email and we will get back to you with what details are needed. --Dan www.acrbo.com 9

ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

The Owen Lea Foundation The Association of Computer Repair Business Owners is pleased to announce that we have chosen a cause to support. Obviously there are thousands upon thousands of different causes that one could select, but due to the purpose of this one in particular we have chosen it to become our cause to support.

“

The name of the cause is “The Owen Lea Foundation”, it was established to provide support to families living with Neuroblastoma, a rare and difficult to treat form of childhood cancer. As of now, there is no cure.

Waffie is the official logo and mascot of the Owen Lea Foundation

No matter how business is, either good or bad, as well as other things in your life, “giving” is something that has always made people feel good as well as just the right thing to do. With The Owen Lea Foundation the Association of Computer Repair Business Owners is making a commitment to just that; “giving”. The Owen Lea Foundation: http://owenleafoundation.org/index.html Check out Iain Mcdonald’s website:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/TheOwen-Lea-Foundation/183575405798?ref=ts

Donate: At the bottom of the website you will see "Help Support The Owen Lea Foundation"...Click it and make a difference!

Owen Scott Lea

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ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

This months winner will receive the video series BetterPCTech from Lalo! We will randomly choose a winner and email the winner. Just send an email to dan@acrbo.com and in the Subject line put: Lalo Last Months winner is: Deans Computer Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

If you own a computer business you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford not to be kept up to date with the latest news and techniques being used by others. Check out all the Podnutz series and see what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been missing. Visit www.PodNutz.com

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2012 ACRBO Membership Drive Our goal would be to have all members become Premium Members; we made the yearly fee so low that everyone would be able to afford it, unlike some other associations that charge in the hundreds. Plus, you can write it off as an advertising expense. The Association of Computer Repair Business Owners membership drive for 2012 is now underway. We just passed our 3rd year as an Association and it’s our first membership drive so let’s make it successful. As we continue to grow, we look forward to welcoming new Premium Members. We are having a great year for the Association of Computer Repair Business Owners, I trust you’ve been able to participate and take advantage of the many benefits of membership. We are continuing to build on our vision to become the premier Association for computer repair business owners. With over 3,400 members worldwide, we have tremendous potential. Preferred Vendors are continually coming aboard along with other features to enhance the Association. Right now we have over 40 Preferred Vendors and are continually adding more. Some of the vendors are also offering better discounts to Premium Members vice regular members such as GFIMax who give Premium Members 20% off monthly billing vice the normal 10%.

Please consider becoming a Premium Member, all you have to do is login and click on "Upgrade Account". If you have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me. My contact details are below. Benefits of being a Premium Member Featured Listing on ComputerRepairLocator.com ACRBO Membership Card ACRBO Sticker ACRBO Certificate Participation in ACRBO Scholarship Fund Larger discounts from select Preferred Vendors Monies collected have been used in the past year for various things to name a few; Owners shop broken into, helping an owner with legal fees, 2 scholarships awarded, gift to owner that was going on a humanitarian trip to build schools in a village, filing of 501© paperwork, and website hosting and maintenance.

Dan Our goal would be to have all members become Premium Members; we made the yearly fee so low that everyone would be able to afford it, unlike some other associations that charge in the hundreds. Plus, you can write it off as an advertising expense.

dan@acrbo.com

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Your Business Checkup Whether you’re thinking it’s Spring Cleaning Time or time for an annual checkup, your business needs to undergo a checkup each year. No matter how large or small your business is, you cannot gauge the effectiveness of any changes you’ve made without analyzing the benefits and bottom line. Here are 10 questions to get you started: How do your year-to-date sales compare to the last couple of years? Don’t be satisfied if you managed to match them because if sales stayed the same then you’ve achieved zero growth. With inflation, this flat growth line is a warning sign for more trouble down the road. What percentage of your business is from repeat customers? This is important to know because if it’s too low, then it needs to be improved. The estimated cost of getting a new customer versus retaining an existing one can be as much as five to one in terms of dollars spent. Keeping customers is more cost-effective than constantly seeking new ones. How long has it been since you offered a new product or service? Loyal customers like to see you changing and progressing with the times. If you’re stuck for an idea, ask your customers what they need. Do you consider marketing and advertising expenses or investments? How you look at the money spent in these areas affects your willingness to spend money at all. Would you look at prescriptions as a waste of money? Marketing is really investing in you, your vision, and your company. The old adage that you must spend money to make money is true, but you must spend it wisely. Spend it on ads that are pulling responses and orders, and if they’re not maybe you need to change publications.

Do you know what PR is and how to use it to positively position your business in the media? I’ll bet that at least one of your competitors does. Nearly every mention of a company or business in the newspapers and magazines is a direct result of publicity efforts. Being quoted or featured in an article speaks volumes to your clients and readers who are your potential prospects. A good PR consultant can do that for you and show you ways to extend the shelf life of that article beyond its publication. Are you listed in the yellow pages? If you only have a line listing, consider including a small ad in the yellow pages. If you can afford it, it will pay dividends throughout the year. Do you treat your regular customers better than your drop-ins? You should. If your customers don’t feel special when coming to you for products of services, why should they remain loyal to you? Have a customer appreciation day or a special invitation only sale for your regulars. Create a mailing list of your regulars. Send occasional post cards or greeting cards for special events or just to keep in touch. Learn to recognize them on sight and greet them by name when they visit you. How long has it been since you really talked to one of your customers? Just as you appreciate when your Doctor takes time to talk to you, your customers will appreciate you if you take an interest in their needs. If you have a service business, have lunch or coffee periodically with some regulars – even if they only contact you once or twice a year. The personal touch in an impersonal world will be remembered.

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How is your business doing compared to your competition? Every company, no matter what the size, has competition – even homebased businesses. Is their business growing or downsizing? Is their pricing or service better than yours? If so, what can you tell potential customers about the price difference? Think about how you can improve your service to meet or exceed your customer’s expectations.

Are your employees happy? Don’t ask them directly, but observe them throughout the day. Watch, listen and learn. Employees who like their jobs don’t watch the clock for quitting time, aren’t habitually late, don’t have poor body language, don’t spend time on personal phone calls, and don’t look like they never smiled. Observe how they interact with customers. Not everyone is a match for direct contact with the public, so make sure you don’t have an employee who is driving business away. I can remember when I was working at my very first job out of school. It was a service business with just the owner and me at work. There was direct contact with the clients, and there was never a problem with smiling when talking face to face with them. I was given the best business tip of my life by that employer, when he pointed out to me that when talking to clients on the telephone I should smile too. For some unexplainable reason, when you smile as you talk on the phone, the exchange with the client becomes more pleasant and more productive. It’s as if that smile went right through the phone wires to the person to whom you’re talking.

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Gillware Gillware, Inc. is now expanding our offerings in providing a cutting edge offsite backup solution with many options for you as a partner.Gillware, Inc. is now expanding our offerings in providing a cutting edge offsite backup solution with many options for you as a partner. Visit the “Vendor Specials” page for full details and for all other Vendor Specials.

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DO 'S AND DON'TS OF WRITING CLASSIFIED ADS DO WRITE OUT ALL DETAILS in your ad offer. Read it, edit it, and re-write it for a shorter, money saving effective ad.

Record results. Code each ad.

"Think small". DO FOLLOW ALL THE RULES when writing your classified ad. Use these ideas. Attention

Interest

DO TEST YOUR AD in 2 or 3 smaller, low cost publications.

Desire

Action

DO USE A NAME with each classified ad including your envelopes. DO NOT CHARGE for sales letters or circulars. DO BE HONEST with all your classified ad claims.

DO READ PUBLICATIONS that relate to your product. Write for ad rates, paid circulation, discounts and closing dates. Keep records. DO HAVE ALL YOUR LITERATURE AND PRODUCTS ready for mailing when our ad appears in the publication of your choice. Do not delay in responding.

DO IDENTIFY your product.

DO USE THE COPYCAT METHOD. Do what other successful advertisers are doing, only with a slight twist, idea or offer.

DO WRITE YOUR CLASSIFIED AD simple, clear and direct.

DO RUN SEVERAL ADS worded differently. Keep records of results.

DO USE WORDS EVERYONE KNOWS and everyone will understand what you are saying.

DON'T OVER ADVERTISE. It can be expensive. If you want to, do it gradually.

DO USE A WORD that will benefit a reader. DO NOT OVERPRICE your product. DO ADVERTISE FREQUENTLY. Constant exposure creates a familiar offer with better response. DO OFFER A MONEY BACK GUARANTEE in your classified ad, salesletter or circular if possible. An excellent sales technique!

DON'T PRETEND YOU KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS. Because you don't. Take time to find out what you need to know. DON'T TRUST YOUR MEMORY. A thought will leave you as quickly as it came. Always write down a good idea! DON'T PLACE YOUR AD in the wrong classification.

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DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY on ad words to amuse or entertain, but use words to persuade, inform and sell your product. DO USE A SHORT BUSINESS NAME. Make it easy to pronounce and remember. DON'T FORGET THE M.E.D.I.C.S. Motivation. Enthusiasm. Desire. Image. Creativity. Success! DON'T GIVE UP. If your ad doesn't pull after a fair exposure, try re-writing it. One or two different words may do the trick. DON'T SPEND THE PROFITS. Re-invest the money in more continuous advertising. DON'T FORGET, an ad that offers "FREE DETAILS" means writing a sales letter or circular. AVOID HIGH TYPESETTING COSTS AND MISTAKES Getting your price lists, brochures, catalogs or newsletters typeset does not necessarily have to be a costly procedure.

Know what you want the FIRST time around. Have a picture in your mind. Trial and error can be costly. Don't have a typesetter set it one way, then decide a different format would look better. Reduce and eliminate author's corrections by thorough proofing and reproofing. Avoid minimum charges by combining small jobs and having them set at the same time. Try to use one family of type to save time and money by avoiding font changes. The consistent look is better. Give explicit instructions on marking up copy: type styles, column widths/margins. With a large job, such as a brochure or annual report, request a style setting proof sheet to get approvals before the entire job is done. Avoid super rush jobs, especially if you don't really need them.

Keep in mind that the main cost in type setting is the time involved in setting type. By minimizing the time needed to create a typeset piece you can effectively keep your cost down.

Avoid lengthy corrections on the phone. You might end up paying for corrections later that could have been avoided if you had done your editing on proof sheets.

The following suggestions can help reduce your typesetting expense.

Get the layout finished and approved before having type set...the same goes for copy, of course. Don't depend on the typesetter to read your mind. Be specific.

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ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

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Some of you may have already heard but Steve Cherubino has disclosed that he is going to be coming out with the NEW Computer Repair Tech Website Builder. Years ago Steve developed an easy to build/edit website for computer businesses and was greeted with great success and praise from business owners. Realizing the market has changed Steve has done a total revamp to the Tech Website Builder and it should be released very soon… Below is a picture of the old format that was used with great success. Really looking forward to this new release.

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News Ads on Tablets: 47% Engage, Says IAB Nearly half, 47 percent, of tablet users say they engage with advertisements more than once a week. That's according to a recent report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and its Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. On the smartphone side, 25 percent of users said they have the same weekly engagement. Following ad engagement, 80 percent of smartphone users and 89 percent of tablet users take action, said the report. The "Mobile's Role in the Consumer's Media Day" report studied behaviors on both types of devices, finding each used devices in different ways. "The key for marketers is looking at how consumers use these devices in different ways, and tailoring brand messages and strategies accordingly," noted Anna Bager VP and GM for the Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, in a press release. Nearly one-third of mobile device owners said they were likely to respond to ads that were related to their current location. Almost half- 48 percent - of smartphone users and 59 percent of tablet users said that they regularly conduct local searches on mobile devices while home watching TV. Smartphone users indicated devices are a crucial part of their everyday life with 70 percent of users stating they don't leave home without it. On the other side of the spectrum are tablets: 70 percent of tablet users stated that these devices only serve them as entertainment and media hubs. Sixty percent of study participants who have both types of devices said they prefer using their smartphones to look up info on-the-go, compared to just 22 percent who would use tablets for quick mobile information. Seventy percent said they prefer to consume print and video via a tablet. Time of day also has a direct impact on how consumers use mobile devices. Among smartphone users, 20 percent access social media when they first wake up, and 28 percent said they have free time to access mobile media during midday hours. In addition, the report said primetime television viewing hours cause a spike in both general and social media consumption.

Facebook Now Replacing Ads on Static Pages Facebook appears to be taking a new approach to the way it serves ads that could bring in more revenue. Attentive Facebook ad observers may have noticed ads shown in the right sidebar on Facebook pages suddenly transforming. It turns out Facebook is now rotating ads while users remain on a single page.

"We recently made a change to some pages that show ads on Facebook that allows ads to be replaced with others after an extended period of time," a Facebook spokesperson told ClickZ. "This change was implemented a few weeks ago and we think this will help people see more relevant ads." Indeed, most likely Facebook is altering ads displayed on an otherwise-static page in the hopes of generating higher click-through rates. If a user is not clicking the ads originally served when he visits a page, Facebook may replace those with ads its system determines to be more relevant. Traditionally on Facebook and across the web, targeted display ads are served when a page is loaded and remain constant until a user leaves the page or refreshes the page. Since the firm's botched IPO, Facebook has dodged criticism about its ability to bring in the amount of ad revenue investors originally expected. Following a quiet period, the company has been vocal about its plans to create more ad revenue. For instance, the firm recently announced plans to launch a real-time ad exchange, opening its site up to a large pool of data for display ad targeting. The ad rotation change appears to be a less-public way for Facebook to optimize its current approach to ad sales and services.

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ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

-Stephen Colbert

ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

ACRBO marketplace PC Dice Contact:

Veteran Web Hosting Contact dan@cmonova.com

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“If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” Jack Welch www.acrbo.com 24

Marketing Effectively with E-mail Marketing Like any type of marketing, email marketing involves a great deal of time and effort to ensure the marketing campaign is effective. This is important because an ineffective marketing campaign of any type is a waste of money and resources. Spending a great deal of time, energy and money into an email marketing campaign which is not reaching the members of the target audience and is not convincing recipients of the email to make a purchase or visit your website is not worthwhile. This article will discuss how to implement an effective email marketing strategy to ensure your business, financial and personal goals are being met. One of the most important aspects of marketing effectively with email is to ensure your marketing efforts are reaching the members of your target audience. One way to do this is to ask former customers as well as potential customers to join your email distribution list. This will help to ensure the majority of members on your email distribution list have an actual interest in your products or services. This is important because you are much more likely to generate sales when you are marketing to this type of an audience than you would if you were marketing to a much larger audience without an interest in your products. Another aspect of marketing effectively is to hire an experienced professional writer to draft the content for your emails, enewsletters, email courses or any other methods you are using to email your message to potential customers. Having your content written can give you a significant edge over the competition if they are drafting their content themselves. The quality of your content is a reflection on your business and poorly written content with no substance will reflect poorly on your business.

Effective email marketing should also be written in a manner which will appeal to the target audience. If necessary you should conduct market research to determine demographical information for your target audience. This research may also determine preferences the target audience may have for receiving marketing information. This may include the type of language used, the format of the emails, the layout of the emails and even aesthetic appearance of the emails. Paying attention to these details can make the email marketing campaign significantly more effective. Finally, effective email marketing should not be viewed as spam. This is a difficult situation. In many cases an email marketing campaign will involve distributing mass emails but care should be taken in these endeavors to avoid having these emails construed as spam. This is important because many Internet service providers include spam filters which apply algorithms to each email account to determine which messages are spam and which ones are legitimate. Emails which are deemed to be spam may never reach the intended recipients. Emails which may it through the spam filters may also be automatically deleted if the Internet user believes it looks like spam. For this reason care should be taken to ensure all marketing emails provide quality content, advertise only subtly and ideally are only sent to email recipients who have specifically requested information about your products or services. This will give you the best opportunity possible to reach your target audience and have a positive impression on them and hopefully entice them to make a purchase or visit your website.

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ISSUE 009 | Sep 2012

The Industry If you are in the Information Technology industry then below is a list of must visit locations

Site: www.TechNibble.com Who Is Technibble For?

Site: www.TheForceField.net Technibble is a free resource for Computer Technicians and Computer Business Owners.

What is The Force Field?

Technibble helps computer technicians with information and how-to-articles published a few times a week and has a strong community of Computer Technicians to help one another.

The Force Field is the name of a podcast for IT Service Professionals, IT consultants, VARs, computer shops and anyone else in the technology field, particularly those who offer products and services to end users.

Technibble helps you by covering topics such as:

The half hour show is produced by Savoia Media and hosted by Rick Savoia, an IT Service Professional who is also a veteran in the broadcast industry.

- How to start a Computer Business - Advertising, how to get clients and keep them - Business and legal issues - Streamline your computer repair work - Technician related product reviews and discounts - New opportunities to look out for - Stories from â&#x20AC;&#x153;the trenchesâ&#x20AC;? from your fellow Computer Techs Technibble also has a large database of Computer Repair tools and adds a new on to its database every week. Be sure to check out the Archives, Computer Repair Tools section and the Computer Technician forum. .

Your Ad here Contact dan@acrbo.com

Let Us Know > Want to see your ad here? Drop us an email.

www.Technibble.com

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Business Apps Dennis Drew dennisdrew@gmail.com

Now available for Android and iPhones

Put simply, an app makes things easier; they make accessing information quicker and more convenient for the user. The app market caters for everyone, apps can help customers find you, find out more about your business and interact with you. Businesses are now putting faith in apps to generate revenue, raise brand awareness and increase user engagement. I compare it to the internet came about and people were wondering “Do I really need a website?”. The same can be asked of apps, and to me the answer is yes. If it’s affordable and doable why not implement it into your business.

Pricing is: $50 for just the Android app, $125 for the iPhone version, or $150 for both (Prices reflect ACRBO membership discount) Contact Dennis Drew dennisdrew@gmail.com for more information