Using Podcasts to Advertise Your Business

Listen to the podcast to learn how podcasting can benefit your business.

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Instructions for Creating Your First Podcast
- Courtesy of Washburn University's Mass Media Bootcamp

1.       Download Audacity – http://audacity.sourceforge.net.

2.       You will also need to download LAME MP3 encoder – http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3 Install the LAME software onto your computer so you can convert the audacity files into MP3 files.

3.       Record and edit your podcast – Instructions can be found here. http://jtoolkit.com/audio/Audacity_Guide.pdf

4.       When you are satisfied with your podcast, click File then Export it as an MP3 and save it to your desktop.

5.       Open a free account with PodBean – http://www.podbean.com/podcast_hosting_audio_video_blog_hosting

6.       Go to the Upload tab and upload you podcast.

7.       Now go to the Publish tab and Publish your podcast.

At this point you can leave your podcast on the Podbean site and direct listeners to your podcast site, or you can embed your podcast into your website or blog. To embed your podcast, follow the steps below.

8.       Click on the Manage tab then click the button that says <embed code>. This will give you the code you need to copy and paste into your blog.

9.       Create a new blog and post the code to the post. Your podcast should appear as content with an embedded player.

Have fun and good luck with your first podcast.

Directing People to your Website with SEO

A business website is the most important part of a small business marketing plan. But how do you get people to come to your website? Through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is a process that helps search engines find and rank your site in response to a search query. The goal is for your site to rank higher than the thousands of other sites with similar content. The higher your site ranks the more traffic it will receive.

Keywords are the most important SEO element for search engines. So the first thing you need to do is come up with a list of keywords that describe the content of your website. What keywords would your potential visitors use in the search box to search for you?

Once you have a list of keywords, use them:

• often in your website
• in URLs and file names
• in page titles
• in headings

Links are another important aspect of SEO.

• Link back to your own archived content when you create new content.
• Link to other well respected websites with similar content.
• Ask others to link to your site.

Content is King. Your site must deliver value to its visitors and do it in an engaging way. Set yourself apart from your competition by creating rich and appealing content and watch your site rise to the top of the rankings.

Finding Inexpensive Photos for Your Advertisments

You may think your small business can't afford quality advertising photos. Well, think again. Even businesses with the smallest budgets can affford to have top notch photos on their websites and print media.

http://www.sxc.hu/
Stock.XCHNG is the leading FREE stock photo site. They have a huge selection of quality photos to choose from.

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
Free Digital Photos dot net is another great place to find a big selection of free photos.

http://www.istockphoto.com/
IStock Photo has a huge selection of inexpensive photos. Prices are based on size with small photos only costing a few dollars.

There are several places around the web to find inexpensive photos for your advertising purposes.Most sites will require you to create a free account. Also carefully read the terms of agreement. The photos may be free, but the owner and the site may require credit. A small price to pay for free photos.

All photos in the slide-show were provided free of charge by Stock.XCHNG.

Art+Copy Club presents the 2011 CLIO Watch Party

The Art +Copy Club, part of the American Advertising Federation of Kansas City, is hosting it's annual CLIO Watch Party.The CLIO Awards is one of the world’s most recognized awards competitions for advertising, design and communications. Registrations is $10 for members and $20 for non-members. The Watch Party begins at 7pm on Thur, Nov. 10, at the Screenland in the Crossroads – 1656 Washington, Kansas City, MO 64108 .


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Business Cards - They Are A-Changin'

Getting business cards printed is one of the first things most new business owners do, and for good reason. Business cards tell potential customers what you do and contain all of your businesses contact information. Several cards can be handed out to friends, family, and happy customers who in turn can hand them out to their friends and family. It is one of the cheapest ways to advertise. You can print your own business cards on the computer or you can order them made for you. Local printers will print business cards or you can order them online from Vistaprint or other online companies.

If paper business cards seem too ordinary for you, check out these plastic business cards.

You should also know about a new generation of business card - the vcard - or virtual card. A vcard is an electronic business card that contains information about you and/or your business. A simple vcard can be attached to the bottom of an email. More sophisticated vcards are published online and are like mini websites. They contain information about you, your skills, your portfolio, your contact information and your social media links. Click here to read more about vcards and see a few examples.

Image courtesy of tungphoto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Social Media Revolution 2011

This video gives a convincing argument for Social Media Advertising. Businesses need to advertise where the people are, and right now millions of people are on social networks.

Inexpensive or Free Advertising Ideas

Advertising is crucial to small business, and start-up business owners, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune. Tightwad Advertising blog will explore inexpensive or free advertising opportunities for small business owners.

Most advertising will fall under four categories:

• Local Advertising - when you or your advertisement comes in contact with potential customers. Local advertising ideas include:
• business cards
• magnetic car signs
• window stickers
• business posters
• Word of Mouth Advertising - when friends, family and happy customers do the advertising for you. You can encourage this by:
• providing an excellent product or service is the most important first step
• handing out extra business cards 
• giving away promotional items
• pens
• bookmarks
• t-shirts
• ball caps
• Internet Advertising - advertising your business online including:
• a business website
• Google AdWords
• SEO - Search Engine Optimization
• Social networking
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Media Advertising - this is what most people think of when they hear the word advertising. It includes:
• Radio
• Television
• Magazines
• Newspapers

Tightwad Advertising will explore these and other forms of advertising while focusing on inexpensive or free advertising options.