I get emails from people who want to know if Start Something Today accepts guest posts. The simple answer is yes but we are very selective. These guidelines are just that – guidelines – if you have an idea then e mail me and we can discuss it.

As a general rule I will only publish one Guest Post a week. So the next question is – What kind of content do we accept?

The general principle is that it has to add value to our readers. Things that are related to doing business – we even let you occasionally promote your own business. It can be related to business ideas, creative ideas, blogging, Internet marketing in general, and it can also be derived from your own personal experiences. There is no minimum length for your post, but usually the guest posts have over 500 words.

Guidelines

• Your post must be original and must have never been published before on the Internet
• You agree to not publish the post anywhere else (i.e., in your own blog or as a guest post in other blogs)
• You can include up to two links in the byline, which will be displayed at the bottom of the post
• You can’t use SEOd anchor text for your links

How do I submit my guest post? We prefer to set you up as a contributor or possibly an editor but that all depends on your content.

If you have a post that meets the guidelines above, you can send it to me on the email paulatstart-something-today.com – if you click on the guest writer image that will take you to my e mail. Usually within 48 hours I will reply stating if we will accept the guest post or not. If I reject your post, you are obviously free to use it in your own blog or to propose it as a guest post to some other website.

I’ve been in business for several years now and have the privilege of working alongside some of the brightest minds in business.These are people who have real experience of doing things that lead to success. I remember one lady Louise Fowler, who I worked with for 2 years and who to my knowledge built 2 £1/5 million businesses, who said “the fortune is in the follow-up” and it took me a while to really grasp what she meant. Follow-up is often talked about as part of the marketing process but in reality it is far more about building relationships and enabling people to trust you.

Follow-up can be broken down into two areas Active and Passive:
Active Follow-up might include:

• picking up the phone and calling a prospective customer/client and asking some very un-sales like questions like: “How are you doing”? If they’ve been on holiday ask them how the trip went. If you know that they had a daughter getting married ask how the wedding went. Don’t try to sell them anything – just ask them some open questions. Just find out what they like doing – kite surfing, flower arranging, extreme sports – just find out what they like doing.
• inviting them for a coffee or lunch or dinner at your place
• sending a complimentary sample product for them to try and then asking for feedback on what they thought
• Skype Chat messages – it is very easy to see when someone is on-line and a simple chat message could lead to a lot of business – but it can also help with creating relationships

Passive follow-up is much easier but less effective as they are much easier to ignore and might include:

• a e mail or printed newsletter
• good quality postcards with your details on mailed with an order or separately
• special offers – less effective as they are perceived as ‘selling’
• audio postcards – sent electronically – they have to be good and preferably with your voice – using a produced voice is less effective
• write someone a letter by hand – they are still very effective – it shows that you care enough to put pen to paper.

There are many variations on a theme but we would love to hear your ideas and what works for you and conversely what doesn’t work for you.

Remember in these days people are more inclined to be interested in your business if you take an interst in them first.

Ok – now I know that to talk about business cards might seem a little like teaching granny to suck eggs but there is far more to having and using a business card than you might at first imagine. So what should your business card have on it:

• your name – not you and your partners – just your name
• your contact details – telephone and e mail are the best
  • make sure your e mail is not paul@freeserve.net but use a domain name
  • use a freephone number – it improves the response rate by 100%
• what you do – particularly important if your business name doesn’t give a clue – Mclune Associates
  • bespoke accounting software
  • importer of designer label childrens wear
  • business start up advisor
  • health coach
  • software retailer
  • IT Wireless Networks
• A Tag Line or Memory Hook

So take some time and make your card work for you. One last tip never give out your card without getting one first!

Vista Print do some of the best cards you can get and very often all you pay is the postage

Paul Barton

‘helping you create what matters’

I use twitter to follow many people and today I was checking a couple of tweets and saw one that made me want to look further. The site is all about people’s experiences of getting laid off or made redundant and is well worth a look. It recently was featured in the Wall Street Journal and I sadly note that in many states in the USA unemployment is running at 10% or more and that’s only the beginning in my opinion.

We have to become more supportive of the people we know who have or are struggling with being laid off and offer them hope. That’s what this site and the community behind it are all about – offering hope, support and the belief that there is a better way.

Don’t forget you can always contribute and join the community and in doing so we may well be able to offer to give you or people you know the lift up in life they need to get back on their feet – Don’t forget our Free Web Hosting offer for those who deserve it.

www.pabarton.com – doing business a better way