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I found a great way to get new clients using Google Local Listing. Here’s how it works. Register your company at the above link. Whenever someone enters a Google search, for example “Architect, Raleigh, NC” your company will come up on a short list at the very top left of the search results along with a small map and a pin with your location.

Check it out. Try a search in your community and see who comes up.

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 Faced with a postal rate increase nearly every year, we're all looking for cost effective ways to reach new customers or StayNTouch with current ones. 
 
In the 80's fax blasts were the alternative to costly snail mail.  Unfortunately, many firms abused customers' fax machines and Congress enacted severe restrictions and stiff fines virtually shutting down the fax as a marketing tool overnight.
 
Today the alternative to snail mail is email.  True to form, spammers sending out those unwanted "Male Enhancement", "Lose 20 Pounds in 5 Days", or "How to Make Millions at Home Stuffing Envelopes" junk ads caused Congress to jump back into action.  In 2003, Congress enacted the CAN-SPAM Act.  
 
Although the Act specifies rules for message presentation, opt out guidelines, labeling for sexually explicit materials, and penalties of up to $11,000 per violation, the law was clearly not intended to exclude legitimate marketers from using email.   
 
In fact, a solid, well-targeted marketing campaign with a strong message can yield extremely high returns while remaining well within the federal guidelines.   The difference between running a marketing program and generating spam ads is the difference between being an "invited guest versus an unwanted pest."  Too many businesses fall into the latter category.
 
To avoid the limitations and ensure compliance with the law, businesses are turning to inexpensive bulk emailing services like Constant Contact or iContact.  These services provide:
 
·         Email addressed to the recipient from you - 90% of these messages are  opened and read.
·         Opt out services - Avoid contacting people that don't appreciate your offering.
·         Return services - Escape "dead" addresses clogging your email box .
·         Database updates - Send messages to current and prospective "Live" clients.

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Google Alerts is a great tool to bring you all the news online about your area, to find out if anyone has mentioned your name online, to follow a news story that is important to you and to learn of accomplishments of people that you care about.

Example:  I live in Cary, North Carolina so  I set up a Google Alert for the phrase, "Cary, North Carolina". Notice that I put the phrase in quotes, this is so that I will only get alerts when both the words, Cary and North Carolina are used together. Otherwise, I would probably be overwhelmed with every article that mentions the state of North Carolina.

I also have a Google Alert set up for my name, "Theresa Carter".   Again, I put my name in quotes so that both my first and last name have to appear online in order to trigger the alert.   I also set up an alert for my business name “StayNTouch.biz”. 

Every morning, I open my email and can check on the latest online news that I am interested in.

You may want to set up alerts for your competitor’s name or an event you're interested in.

How to set up a Google Alert

First, you need to go to the Google Alerts web page at: www.google.com/alerts  

Setting up your alert is done entirely in the small form. 

The first section of the Google Alert form that you want to fill in is the topic that you want to monitor. It is called the "Search Terms". This is where you will enter the text that you want to watch out for. If you are searching for a person, put their name, in quotation marks in the "Search terms:" box. For example, I want to see if my name is mentioned online, so I put "Theresa Carter" in the box.

The quotation marks around my name tells Google that I only want to see items that include the entire search term. Otherwise, I would get an alert for every new item that mentioned Theresa or Carter.

Next, you want to select the type of alerts you want sent to you. Click the drop down list next to, "Type" and you will have the following items to choose from:

·         News: A news alert searches online news articles for your search term, and alerts you with a link to the articles when it finds them.

·         Blogs: A blog alert searches the latest blog posts for your search term.

·         Web: A web alert searches new web pages for your term.

·         Comprehensive: A comprehensive alert combines the results from News articles, Blogs, and web pages.

·         Video: A video alert will contain links to the latest videos online that match your search term.

Groups: Google Groups is a free service from Google where groups of people have discussions about common interests. A Groups alert will contains links to discussions that contain your search term.

I usually choose a comprehensive type of alert, that way I get all the news, blog and web results for my search term.

Now that you have chosen the type of alert, you want to select how often you want to receive them. Click on the drop down list next to, "How often:" and you will have the following to choose from

·         Once a day: This is my favorite option. The alerts seem to come in overnight and I can check up on them first thing in the morning.

·         As-it-happens: Watch out if you pick this setting. If your search term is a popular one, you could be getting lots of email alerts.

·         Once a week: I don't think I have ever used this setting. Who wants to be alerted about something a week after it happens?

Once you have entered your search term, and selected the type and frequency of your alerts, all you have left to do is type in your email address and click the "Create Alert" button.

You will see a page telling you that your alert has been created and informing you of one last step. Check your email, and click on the link to verify your Google Alert request.

If you already have an account with Google, just log into that account before going to www.google.com/alerts  and you will be able to create, delete and manage your Alerts right from the web page.

Google allows you to have up to 1000 alerts, so have fun and stay up to date about the subjects that interest you.

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What have you done today to help someone else?  Why not review some of your LinkedIn contacts and write a recommendation for someone you know and trust.  

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Are You LinkedIn.doc Download this file

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