Social media sites are really funny animals and as such need really funny names.

A new site called Ideablob fits that requirement and is doing something that I find strangely intriguing.

Budding entrepreneurs are encouraged to join the site and submit their business ideas and for a chance to win $10,000 towards fulfilling them.

Other members cast votes that move ideas up the list toward qualifying for the prize. The real mesmerizing part of the site though is all of the comments that the ideas generate. Suggestions, praise, tweaks, add-ons and the like run down the side of each idea making for a really interesting stream. It has a bit of a virtual focus group feel to it.

Here�s a short video focused in ideas.

In addition, people can ask the community to weigh in on questions that have that may or may not be related to any of the ideas on the site.

Worth mentioning is the fact that the site is created and sponsored by a credit card company and the on-site branding is one of the lightest treatments I�ve ever seen. (Note the inspired by Advanta emblem in the header) This kind of hands off, low-key promotion is tough for some marketers to pull off, but I think it adds a level of transparency and trust that is key to the success of these types of sites. Nice work Advanta.

It�s a unique twist and worth a visit.

So, what�s your great idea?

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12:13:37 AM    

It�s amazing what having an entrepreneurial mayor can do for the focus on small business in a city.

I�m speaking at the Small Business Summit today in New York City. The Summit is a gathering of Federal, State and Local agencies that serve small business such as the SBA, SCORE, SBDC and the NYC Department of Small Business Services.

The conference opened up with a brief presentation from Robert Walsh, Commissioner, NYC Department of Small Business Services. While I�m sure that Mayor Bloomberg�s influence has not allowed them to solve many of the problems small businesses face in working with government agencies, several of his remarks got my attention.

1) They have created dozens of Small Business Solutions Centers and the most successful one if run by a for profit organization. (mixing govt and for-profit?)

2) They pro-actively reach out to employers and offer to bring them 5 qualified, trained candidates for every job opening. In the past, efforts amounted to begging for people to hire their trainees with ads in subways right next to the wanted posters. (They placed 359 workers with Whole Foods this quarter)

3) They are working on an initiative called Business Express to bring together all 18 agencies that small businesses might need to meet with, file with and comply with in a one stop shop - if they get that done every city in America should take note. (In another ungovernment like move, the web site for this effort, still a work in progress, is open to the public - Business Express)

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12:13:37 AM    

Email is awfully invasive, no way around it these days, but it�s also awfully effective for all types of communication and response.

One of the ways that I�ve found to get a little bit of control over the beast, while also making sure that my responses are well crafted, is to pre-write email responses to many of the common requests I receive. The idea here is to write emails that contain powerful marketing messages while you have the time and mindset to do so and not in a quick response. These types of marketing messages can allow you to send consistently well-written messages without the temptation to drop in to shorthand. (nbd;) is only acceptable if you are a teenager marketing to another teenager.)

You can create a list of typical responses to requests for:
• Product or service information
• Guarantee and warranty information
• Sales terms and pricing
• Special offers and bonus offerings
• Glad to meet you at the networking event
• I would like to introduce you to a strategic partner
• Please consider a joint venture
• I�m looking for one more great salesperson

The list could go on and on dependent upon the types of emails you write most often.(I get asked for certain links to resources all the time, so I automate those replies.) There are lots of options for autoresponder types of campaigns that send out emails in response to a question, but in this case, I�m talking about more of the 1-to-1 communication that you do all day long. These emails are not robotic cut and paste marketing messages as much as they are meant to be templates that you can start with knowing that you have a well-written message that only needs a little tweak here and there to personalize and send.

I use a little scripting automation program called Quickeys to program pre-written text into key combination shortcuts - so my �thanks for doing so and so� email is completed in response to ctrl+d or some combination of shortcuts you assign. There is a Mac and PC version available.

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12:13:36 AM    

I had a chance to visit with Ken Yancey, CEO of SCORE for this episode of the the Duct Tape Marketing podcast.

SCORE is an underutilized resource for small business owners who are just starting and want to get some help from a season, often retired, business owner or executive. And did I mention it�s free!

What is/Who is SCORE? From the website

SCORE �Counselors to America�s Small Business� is a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

SCORE has 389 chapters in locations throughout the United States and its territories, with 10,500 volunteers nationwide. Both working and retired executives and business owners donate time and expertise as business counselors. SCORE was founded in 1964.

The thing that many small business owners may not know however is that you can find a local chapter and work with a local counselor or you can get matched up to a counselor, nationwide, that may have the exact experience you are looking for. The first step is to locate a local chapter and then dig in and find out all the ways they can help you start and grow your business.

On a related note, SCORE recently partnered with OPEN from American Express to create the �Small Business Speed Coaching Test Drive,� a multi-city seminar tour designed to support small business growth and trigger success through complimentary educational and mentorship programs. The first event, held Nov 8th in Orlando sold out. Future events are planned for Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta and Chicago. Details are forthcoming here

This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast is brought to you by att.com/onwardsmallbiz. Resources for the small business owner.

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12:13:35 AM    

Ok, it�s not really a secret, but I can�t say enough about how much I value my monthly Search Engine News subscription. The world of search engines and SEO is a moving target so it�s great to have a source that can provide you with real-world, no spammy stuff, access to what works and what�s changed.

Stephan and his crew at Planet Ocean spend most of the month testing the things they write about, so you can feel confident that if they says something has changed at Google or Yahoo, it�s probably worth you knowing about it.

The service is sold on a subscription basis and you get 12 (or 6) 6 months of SearchEngineNews.com delivered to you online the first day of every month and access to the UnFair Advantage Book on Winning The Search Engine Wars.

Search Engine News Gets a �Tools I Use� seal of approval. The service costs $12/month - just go get it. (Yes, Virginia, this is an affiliate link.)

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12:13:34 AM    

I started my own business 22 years ago. (Hey, I�m not as young as I look!) At the time it felt more like insubordination than anything else. Today, it�s a full out revolution. Have you joined? Why not?

I created this little, perhaps corny, mix that I hope pushes people thinking about starting to do so and inspires those who have started to do more.

If it speaks to you, feel free to email it to a friend or hit steal this and embed it on your blog or web site. Viva la small business.

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12:13:33 AM    

I�m playing around with video blogging and using video in general in anticipation of launching my own small business social networking site called The WorkBench. (There will be more on that soon.) Here�s a post from a few days ago in video format. Let me know what you think. (I think!) You can embed this clip on your site or in your blog if you like by copying the code that comes up when you hit the steal this tab below the movie.

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12:13:32 AM    

The race to be the biggest, baddest, boldest email marketing service is a grueling one. There are a handful of providers that do a lot of things right and would make a very good fit for most small business marketers.

So, the decision on using one over another usually lies in a detail or two. Is the interface simple, do I like the template, how do they report tracking, etc. Vertical Response, a San Francisco based service, has what I think is a pretty compelling competitive advantage. Vertical Response takes that position that email marketing is direct marketing and also offers traditional postcard marketing services as part of an integrated package.

Customers simply upload their artwork for a postcard and create a campaign based on their list and Vertical Response will send out a high quality postcard mailing via 1st class postal mail.

Small business marketers can greatly enhance their chances of building trust with prospects if they can deliver education based messages via email, snail mail and the telephone. The more integrated and, for the matter, the easier it is to do this, the more likely it is that you can adopt a systematic approach to marketing.

Try this out for a while. Create a list of 500 of your hottest prospects. Write a simple report that gives out some valuable tips related to your industry and then send an email, postcard and phone message inviting these prospects to simply come and get this free information. Do this 100 leads at a time (hint: Jigsaw) or 500 at a time, do this for six months and your business will take off.

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12:13:31 AM