The Wax Blog

03 Jan

Posted at 13:03h in Integrated Marketing, Small Business by
the Wax BlogI realized after 8 years in business I've seen some trends in how entrepreneurs kick off a new year. One thing I know I need to work on is calibrating the right sense of urgency in terms of all my goals and plans for 2011.  This seems to be an issue for many small business owners as well.  It's not easy to keep everything in balance this time of year - not burning out too fast OR taking too long to plan. See if you can identify any of your own traits in these characterizations:

18 May

Posted at 05:15h in Uncategorized by
Photo from fOTOGLIF
By Beth Graddon- Hodgson Any journalist will tell you that a headline; a simple few words, holds as much importance as the body of an article. When writing a blog, the headline or title is of equal importance. However, the approach needs to be different, because you’re not just looking to grab the attention of readers; you need to do that while grabbing the attention of search engines!

17 May

Posted at 06:00h in Integrated Marketing, Small Business by
Harvey Mackay has written six New York Times bestselling books, two of which were named among the top 15 inspirational business books of all time – Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware The Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt. His latest book, Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You , was released in February 2010, and immediately made the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller lists.  Harvey is a nationally syndicated columnist and has been named one of the top five speakers in the world by Toastmasters International.  He is chairman of the $100 million MackayMitchell Envelope Company, a company he started in 1960.

11 May

Posted at 04:39h in Uncategorized by
By Beth Graddon- Hodgson You might think that it’s only your actual blog content that is going to get people to stop by and read, but images play a big role, too. They can help make your blog posts appear more professional and attractive, but that’s really only a small portion of their benefits.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
For one thing, the images can drive traffic to your blog. People search for usable photos just about as often as they search for information online. When you post a photo and use your blogging tool to upload it with a title, relevant keywords and a caption, you’re creating another way for people to find you on search engines. This can encourage them to either read your blog content while they’re already found themselves on your site, or give you a link back if they decide to use your image on their own blog or site. (Quick note - I thought this was a great time to try out the Wordpress free photo plugin from Crestock. Works GREAT just search "free photo" in your directory or download it here.  Of course, photo usage needs to be done carefully, or you might find yourself at the losing end of a lawsuit. Not all of the pictures you upload on your blog need to be yours, but these are the guidelines to follow before you put a picture on your post:

10 May

Posted at 08:15h in Small Business, Social Media by
Most of the time we focus on  "how to" implement PR, marketing and social media. But above all, it's important to remember  "why"  we do them. In this post, guest blogger and social media expert Dana Larson provides five ways that technology marketing accelerates growth and success. [caption id="attachment_1389" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Dana Larson, OnePlace"]Dana Larson, OnePlace[/caption] We’ve all been there - some clients wants to use those cool “social media site things” as part of their marketing mix. And hey - they work! New technology marketing tools, including social media, can be incredibly effective for certain businesses in increasing their business success.  But there are still certain gaps between the marketing tools and the communication tools used between a business and their marketing practitioners, right? Wrong. Totally wrong. Using the next generation of online tools that are out there can plug some of the gaps you may have in providing the kind of customer service that will create an experience that your competitors can’t match. Here are 5 ways this type of technology will garner great amounts of love from your clients.

06 May

Posted at 07:31h in How to Pitch, Public Relations, Small Business by
I've been chewed out one too many times by a fierce, brilliant magazine editor, and yet a great feature in a national print monthly is still a plum placement. I asked an old editor of mine (in my brief freelance writing career) to spill the beans on what these folks REALLY want. And how to avoid totally pissing them off. Sheri Wallace is the former  Editor-in-Chief of ePregnancy magazine and Associate Publisher of REAL Magazine, with respective bi-monthly national newsstand circulations of 400,000 and 250,000. She doesn't mince words so read on...