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As the Los Angeles Times recently put it, gift cards aren’t just for the big boys anymore. Small businesses are reaping the benefits as well.

However, according to the Times article, only about 8 to 10% of small and mid-size merchants have used them.

For the 90% of small businesses who haven’t gone this route, here’s three simple reasons why implementing a gift card program can help your business grow.

It Increases Spending

According to industry research, consumers are likely to spend more than the initial value of the gift card they received, and a majority of merchants who implement gift card programs report an increase in their sales.

To top that off, gift card users are more likely to buy full-priced items over sale items, and are less likely to bring items back for exchanges or refunds.

It Builds Brand Recognition

The benefits here are twofold.

First, someone has vouched for your business by giving your gift card to someone else—probably to a friend or family member. We all understand the power word-of-mouth can be to creating trust and awareness, and a branded gift card does this overtly and in a very tangible way.

Just as importantly, a gift card serves as a reminder, like an advertisement that burns inside a wallet or purse. Depending on the value of the card, an individual may keep it with them for days or weeks at a time. Think about the last time you needed something that you already had a gift card for—whether it’s dinner or for a free oil change. It’s a win for both you and your customers.

It Generates Repeat Business

Your gift cards users are not only more likely to spend more money at your establishment, but they’re also more likely to visit your business on more than one occasion.

Who wouldn’t want to increase repeat business?

Here’s a bonus reason—they’re cost effective

Sure, the above reasons sound great, but what will it cost you, right? Believe it or not, gift cards are incredibly affordable, which is why they’re becoming increasingly popular among small business owners.

And even better—we can help you. If you’re a US-based business, and you’re interested in learning more, shoot us an email at community@newtektechnologyservices.com (and be sure to ask us how you get can get your first 100 gift cards free).

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If you’re an iPhone owner (or even if you’re not), you probably already know that Apple’s There’s an App for That ad campaign isn’t some overstated marketing slogan. With over 100,000 applications, there’s pretty much something for everything—or if not, it’s probably on its way.

But as the App store continues to grow, and applications fight for attention and exposure, it can be increasingly difficult to discover the best apps for a particular need, especially productivity-type applications that business owners might find useful.

So, to highlight a few that might make your day-to-day grind just a little more convenient, here’s our list of 10 Handy Apps for Small Business Owners (in no particular order):

1. iXpenseIt

Price: $4.99
Category: Finance

With what some iPhone users might consider a steep price for an app, iXpenseIt makes up for it by doing a good job of simplifying your daily expense tracking and monthly budgeting.

Taking a client to lunch that you’ll be expensing? This app lets you document the expense in seconds, and even stores photo receipts.

2. AT&T Virtual Receptionist

Price: Free
Category: Business

If your concerned that your businesses’ small size might scare off some customers, this app can help. With AT&T Virtual Receptionist, you get your own business phone system, with custom call forwarding, an auto-receptionist with company greeting, visual voicemail, and even 60 free toll-free minutes.

3. Dropbox

Price: Free
Category: Productivity

Once you start using it, you’ll see why Dropbox for iPhone is one of the most popular productivity apps available. Like a virtual drive that exists everywhere you need it, you can store, access, and share your files between your phone and any computer.

4. Scanner Pro

Price: $6.99
Category: Business

Straight out of a spy movie, Scanner Pro turns your iPhone into a portable scanner. Scan items such as documents, business cards, receipts, notes, and even whiteboards, then either email them or upload them to Dropbox.

5. Evernote

Price: Free
Category: Productivity

This brilliant little app sort of works like a personal assistant that follows you around and jots down all of your great ideas you. Easily create notes, snap photos, and record voice memos that you can later access from your iPhone, computer, or online.

6. Easy Task Manager

Price: Free
Category: Productivity

Don’t just make a to-do list on a pad of paper (what is this, the 80’s?), stay organized and get things done with the help of your iPhone and EasyTask Manager. It syncs up with your Mac or Windows computer, and even supports David Allen’s GTD (Getting Things Done) method.

7. UPS / FedEx Mobile

Price: Free / Free
Category: Business / Business

If your business ships items through either UPS or FedEx on a regular basis, these apps are a must have. Track packages, assign nicknames to shipments, find pickup locations or delivery times, and more.

8. mSecure Password Manager

Price: $2.99
Category: Productivity

I don’t know about you, but I have at least a dozen extremely important logins and passwords to remember at any given time, and if you’re a business owner, you probably have even more. mSecure Password Manager gives you a way to securely store your important information (via data encryption), like passwords or even credit card numbers.

9. Analytics App

Price: $6.99
Category: Productivity

A bit on the steep side in terms of price, this app quickly earns its costs if you’re regularly on the road or in a meetings when you need to check Google Analytics for your website stats. In fact, this app is probably easier to use than a web browser. Get a quick view of reports or drill into your site’s traffic data, all on the fly.

10. BeamMe

Price: Free
Category: Business

Run out of business cards at the conference (or forgot them at home)? This networking application lets you send your contact information to any phone or email address, and even integrates with Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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So there you have it — just a few of many iPhone applications out there you might find handy. Have any that we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments below.

Once you enter into the world of Internet marketing, there are two words that you will continue to run across over and over again: AdWords and AdSense. Like a lot of people, you might not be completely sure of what they even are, or how they can benefit you. So, to clear the air just a bit, check out three things you should know about each before you make that dive into the Google marketing Space.

Google AdSense

AdSense lets your site work for you

With Google AdSense, your site becomes your moneymaker. AdSense is set up so that when a customer visits your site, they will see a targeted banner ad either on the side or top of the web page. When a visitor clicks on that ad, you receive anywhere from $0.10 to $10, depending on the particular Cost Per Click (CPC) rate. AdSense is best suited for sites that have a large number of daily visits. So, if you’re not to that point yet, this might not be a viable revenue generating option for you.

Targeted Ads

Banner Ads placed on your site are related to, and targeted towards, the content on your site. For example, if your site is for a local pet store, then you might see ads for obedience training or local pet adoption locations. This ensures that your ads will receive the maximum amount of clicks possible.

Customization

As a business owner you’ve probably spent a lot of time and money on the look and feel that your site conveys, and the last thing you want to do is place a banner ad that clashes with your site design. A great feature in AdSense is the ability to allow customization of the banners that will appear on your site. From font choice, to over 200 color options, you are in control of the ads that are displayed on your site.

Google AdWords

You become the advertiser

With Google AdWords you are in the advertiser’s seat. You create an ad to be placed on Google’s search network, which will appear when the person doing the search enters certain keywords. You are responsible for the copy in the ad, the keyword choice, and the landing page that the ad will direct them to. Google has some great tools that will help you create your ad and choose your keywords.

Spend

With AdWords you are in complete control of your budget. You set the amount you want to pay on a daily basis and there is no minimum requirement for your spend. You are able to control your daily budget, bids, and ad quality. Your daily budget should be set to an amount that you feel comfortable spending each day. You can edit your daily spend as often as you like. Bids are most commonly set up on a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) basis. CPC determines the amount that you are willing to pay for each click on your ad when displayed by Google. The higher that you bid on a keyword or phrase the higher your position will be. Daily tracking on your keyword bids is crucial to the success of your campaign.

Keywords

Keyword choice can either make or break the success of your campaign. Make sure you take the time to pick the right keywords or phrases to drive traffic to each campaign. In order to help you choose your keywords you can use the AdWords keyword tool. Not only will it give you suggestions on keywords depending on the subject of your ad, it will also provide you with some other useful information like monthly search volume, estimated average CPC, and local search trends for each keyword it suggests. Remember your keywords or phrases can either be broad, like dance studio, or they can have a more narrow focus, like toddler ballet classes. If your ad is broad in its message, choose broad keywords, and for an ad that is very specific to a product or service, choose narrow keywords.

The term Style Guide is rather broad, and it can mean different things to different people in different professions. Traditionally, however, it usually refers to publication guidelines.

Journalists, for example, follow usage and punctuation rules as outlined in the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook; book publishers usually adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style; academic papers in the social sciences–at least in American Journals–follow the style guidelines set by the American Psychological Association (APA).

These guidelines cover things like how to refer to organizations and places, how to cite sources, and even tell you how to use commas. The purpose, of course, is for consistency. A newspaper article in the Big Bend Sentinel, in Marfa, Texas, follows the same editorial rules as one written for the Baltimore Sun.

Corporations and large organizations commonly have their own publication style guides as well, which helps keep their brand, identity, and message consistent across any number of media. To get an idea of what I’m talking about, take a look at the University of Pennsylvania’s web style guide.

As a university with a lot of moving parts, different schools and departments that, to some degree, operate independently from each other, Penn ensures a high level of brand consistency with their style guide. So when anyone within the university, or someone working on behalf of the university (such as an outsourced web design company), publishes content–say, a new website or page–guidelines have already been established. This includes everything from approved colors, logos, branding standards, and general content guidelines.

But what about small businesses? Do they need a style guide too?

Your business might not have the prestige and crafted image of an Ivy League Institution, like the University of Pennsylvania, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have just much control in how  your brand is transmitted to the world.   So the the answer is yes, you should create  a style guide, especially if you have several employees that have a hand in communicating externally, or if you’re looking to hire a third-party firm to develop your web presence or market your business, although you might want to keep in mind that your style guide will probably be on a much smaller scale. We’re talking something that might be, at least  initially, as short as one printed page long, which outlines the set-in-stone aspects of your business’s identity.

This might include:

• Branding: Example — your business is registered as Southern California Decor, but in terms of how you want to market your company, you’re always referred to as SoCalDecor, which is ALWAYS spelled as one word.  List all specific ways your brand should be and should not be displayed and referred to, including trademark usage and abbreviations (e.g. Do not refer to SoCalDecor as “SCD” unless “SoCalDecor” is previously mentioned in the same paragrpah).

• Color values, preferred fonts, logos, and required elements such as slogans.

• Tone: Example — your business doesn’t take itself too seriously, so you might want your image to reflect that, from the design of your website to the language used on your web pages, media relations, and printed collateral. Write out a description of how your brand should present itself externally.

• Usage:Example –  Only refer to staff as Yard Architects and never “landscapers.”

Of course, once your business grows and evolves, your style guide should grow with it.  And don’t forget, the next time you’re working with a web designer, a copy writer, or a marketer, be sure to tell them, Hey, here’s my style guide, it’s important that you follow my branding guidelines.

So what are your thoughts on creating a style guide for your small business? Do you feel setting your own style guidelines is an important aspect of protecting your brand? Let us know in the comments below.

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve always been troubled by Earth Day. On the one hand, it’s nice to give Mother Earth a day all her own. A day when we all stop to recognize her beauty, and make a more conscious effort to treat her right. Which leads to my trouble with Earth Day. It’s frightening that she only gets one day. ONE DAY?! Surely she deserves more TLC than one day’s worth. She deserves 365 days of TLC. After all, she’s no spring chicken.

That said, whether you’re an eco-conscious employee or a tree-hugging business owner, every little bit counts. But let’s take it beyond that one bleeding heart office worker who is always fighting the good fight alone. Make it a top-down initiative.

If your entire office is chipping in to reduce the ecological footprint, imagine the difference you can make. Large businesses matter. Small businesses matter. Heck, even solo-operation home office workers matter.

Take a look at the list below to see how you can improve your efforts. I’m not asking you to physically hug a tree or make a decision to “live off the land,” but I am asking you to implement at least five things on this list. You can do that…right?

Paper, Products & Supplies

1. Institute an office recycle program by planting clearly posted bins in high traffic areas of your office for paper, and do the same in your kitchen area for aluminum cans, bottles and cardboard.
2. Purchase green or recycled products. If you’re interested in seeing how far we’ve come in terms of greening, check out this Wall Street Journal “by-the-numbers” overview.
3. Attach a “think twice before printing” line to your email signature and follow suit…avoid the “Command + P” or “Ctrl + P” button.
4. When you DO need to print, set up your printer to print double sided and in draft quality. If you need multiple copies, print one and copy the rest. According to this ZDNet post, it takes about 10 times more energy to manufacture a sheet of paper than to copy an image onto it.
5. Remember note taking? If you’re an old schooler like me who still uses the occasional pad of paper, reuse the blank side of used sheets of (recycled) paper. Waste not, want not.
6. Upload all user guides, employee handbooks, benefits packets and any other forms to shared drives or intranet portals.
7. Use environmentally safe cleaning products. There are loads of brick-and-mortar retailers that carry them, or you can buy online.
8. Institute laser and ink cartridge recycling programs. You can even make a bit of money by taking them to your local Staples store through their Eco Easy Program. (You might even consider donating the proceeds to a local environmental organization.)
9. Ditch the plastic ware and stock the office kitchen with reusable dishes, cups and mugs. While you’re at it, keep your caffeine addicts running with fair trade coffee.

   Equipment

10. Set all office equipment (including computers) to energy save mode. Pretty self-explanatory. Most devices have an energy setting. Find it. Use it.
11. Disconnect all equipment before leaving for the day. Also, if there’s equipment in the office you only use sporadically, only plug it in when you need to use it.
12. Place ads for any outdated furniture on recycle sites such as Freecycle or One Work Place.
13. Be sure to maintain your HVAC systems by replacing outdated equipment and regularly changing ac filters.
14. In the summer, set temperature controls to 75 to 80 degrees during regular office hours and above 80 once employees have left for the day. The same applies for the wintertime with heat settings.

    Lighting

15. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights. Also replace incandescent EXIT signs with LED signs. According to Salt River Project, they use about one-tenth the wattage and last 50 times longer than incandescent-lamp signs
16. Set your lights to function on a timer so they automatically turn off after regular business hours. Also, turn the lights off when no one is in the room (such as the kitchen, meeting rooms, bathrooms, etc.)
17. Use natural light whenever possible to avoid using unnecessary overhead lights. A little Vitamin D is good for you.

    Transportation

18. Provide incentives for employees who drive hybrid vehicles, vanpool, carpool, bike or take public transportation to work. Gift cards, extra vacation days and raffle entries are all great ways to entice employees to commute smarter.
19. Whenever possible, encourage employees to telecommute. In fact, telecommuting can actually increase productivity and lower costs. The White House even conducted a study to support this notion.

    Miscellaneous

20. Avoid spreading harmful metal contaminants into the environment by recycling batteries. You can even find battery-recycling centers near you.
21. Either get qualified yourself or send a company representative to a LEED certification course. It could save your company a significant amount of money AND benefit the environment. A win-win, yes? Find a U.S. Green Building Council Chapter near you.
22. Enlist your office green thumbs and start an office garden. Not only will you and your employees be eating healthier, but you’ll be able to take comfort in knowing you’re doing something extremely innovative and altruistic.

Granted, some of these are merely common sensical reminders, but hopefully some of the tips listed above get you thinking about changing some of your office habits. And not just on the 22nd of every April but year round.

There are probably hundreds, maybe even thousands of ways we can all be better environmental citizens and we’ve only touched on 25 of them here. What are some other ways you’ve found to conserve resources in your business operations? Leave them in the comments below and help us grow the list.

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• Five Green Business Trends For 2010 (smallbiztrends.com)
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• How to Engage Employees in Workplace Greening (smallbiztrends.com)

If you are engaging in email marketing but not seeing the results that you were hoping for, you probably need to change some aspect of your email.  But what could be the problem?  This is where Split Testing, aka A/B Testing, can help.  Split Testing is a fast, free and easy way of testing a single variable to help improve your open stats. Split testing simply put is testing two variables against each other to see which one receives better results.

How Should I Split My Distribution List?

The easiest and most common approach to split your list is to simply split your list in half. For example, if you have 500 people in your distribution list you will send the control email to the first 250 people and the test email to the other 250 people.  Then simply see which one performs better. The better performer will then be used as the control for the next test.  Keep split testing your campaign until you received the desired results.

Below are some key areas to focus on when conducting your A/B Test.

TIP: Email Service Providers like Mail Chimp allows you to segment your list based on location. This allows all of your recipients to receive your emails at 9am on Wednesday even if you are sending it to several different time zones.

It all comes down to lots and lots of trial and error. At some point you’ll find a formula that makes sense. What’s more, split testing is a free and easy way to help increase your open rates and something you can easily incorporate into your next marketing email campaign.  Does your business employ split testing for marketing email campaigns? If so, please share your results in the comments below. Which change(s) had the biggest effect on your results?

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• A/B testing the word webinar vs. online training (mailchimp.com)
• A/B Testing: A Simple But Effective Way To Improve Your Email Marketing Campaigns (sendblaster.com)

Do you have a favorite establishment that you visit routinely? I do. Would you even go so far to say you’re a bonafide brand loyalist? Meaning, whenever possible (without being obnoxious), you sing the praises of your favorite brand to friends, family and colleagues? Yep. I do that, too. See the picture to the left for my vice.

And do you know why it’s my vice? It’s because this particular brand does something that no other business does for me. In addition to having a great product that speaks for itself, the employees of this company have befriended me. Before I even pull up to the window, they’ve greeted me by name, asked how my dogs are doing, commented on my new haircut and have my drink ready to go. They already know what I want before I even reach the window. (Which is helpful given my indecisive nature.) And that is why I’m a Dutch Bros. brand loyalist.

Is this something only restaurants, coffee purveyors and retail stores can do? Certainly not. Any business can cultivate brand loyalists, though it takes work. Lots of “going the extra mile.” But the benefits are endless considering you’ll not only develop deeper relationships with your customers that may very well result in creating lifelong customers, but it makes the job of marketing a whole lot easier.

Here are a four easy ways your business can begin cultivating brand loyalists or “friendomers.” Friend + customer = friendomer. (Yes, I did in fact just make up that word. Feel free to spread it liberally.)

Take some time to focus
Lines may form, call queues may build. Remain cognizant of performing efficiently but above all, give each customer as much time as necessary. Encourage your employees to engage customers in small talk and get to know a little about their lives – not just what kind of coffee they’re ordering or what service they’d like to add on to their account.

For example, if a customer calls in to make a change to their account before leaving on vacation, make note of it. Imagine how that customer will feel next time they call in and the employee helping them asks, “How did you like Fiji?” Do you think that customer will remember that conversation? You bet they will…

Incentivize Them
Customer loyalty programs are becoming the norm, so your customers have come to expect it. You may not win any loyalists for this step alone, but it’s a critical piece of the equation. We’re all familiar with them. In fact you probably have at least one or all of the following on your keychain right now: a supermarket, video rental, retail, gas, or coffee rewards card. If you don’t currently have some type of loyalty program in place, change that. ASAP. But don’t just do it for the sake of doing it. Do it in a way that really makes the offer compelling.

At Dutch Bros., not only do I keep my coffee punch card nestled securely in my visor flap, but I’m enrolled in the mobile VIP club that alerts me of generous weekly promotions. I actually anticipate those text messages. Can you imagine that? If you’d like to kickstart a loyalty program, you can either run a few appropriate keywords through a search engine and find multiple customer loyalty management companies that can help, or you can visit this resource list compiled by PR guru Kevin Laverty.

Better yet, Surprise Them
This is where it gets interesting…and with its unlimited potential, it could really help you build a diehard cadre of “friendomers.” Have you looked into Foursquare or Gowalla? If you haven’t I won’t judge, but I feel compelled to command encourage you to take a closer look at both. Both Gowalla and Foursquare are geo-location apps that are picking up serious steam among social media users.

Indeed, the growing popularity of smart phones and geo-location apps is a trend worth noting…so what are you going to do to capitalize on it? One great way to build a “friendomer”? Reward them with a free meal or deep discount on their 10th check in. If a customer holds onto the mayorship for more than a month, give them free meals until someone knocks them out of their position. There are loads of ways to have fun with this, and the potential is hard to deny. Jay Baer said it best in his post, Ignore Foursquare at Your Peril – An Analysis of Potential. It’s worth checking out.

This concept doesn’t just work for brick-and-mortar businesses though. If you’re a consultant or own a small creative agency and have been working with a client consistently, why not cut them a significant deal on the 5th or 6th project? Obviously they like your work. Go the extra mile to make them a lifelong client. Be more than a business partner. Be a friend.

Spread the Mindset
Sure you see the value of creating raving fans out of your customers, but that vision has to extend beyond the owners/management staff. Empower your employees to read between the lines and provide a little extra something to customers if the occasion calls for it. By all means, don’t encourage them to “give away the farm” but DO encourage them to recognize situations to connect with customers, and give them the license to act on those situations.

For example, one of your employees may have found out through a conversation with a customer that this is their 20th purchase with your company. Provide them with a toolbox of “incentive” goodies that they can take liberty in doling out to repeat customers. This simple act will speak volumes. And chances are, that customer is going to tell a friend about that interaction.

So does building a base of “friendomers” require some extra effort from you and your staff? Sure. But hopefully you’ll find the investment justifies the effort.

Let’s keep this list going. In addition to those mentioned above, what has your company done to build brand loyalty? Drop them in the comments…

We all know that in the business world, it’s never easy being the little guy.  Not only can the Goliaths in your industry beat you in price just about every single time, they probably have first quarter marketing budgets ten times your annual revenue.

But one of the biggest advantages the big guys have over small businesses (fair or not) is assumed credibility.  They’re big, so they must know their stuff.

Let’s face it, most of us would probably like to support a small, local business over a big box corporation if given the option, but for a lot of people, it’s still going to be a little scary trusting a company that operates out of a spare bedroom over a company with a nice, flashy office in Manhattan.

So what do you do when faced with this challenge?

Do what the Frilled Lizard does: pretend you’re bigger.

If you’re not familiar with the odd little lizard from Down Under, it’s famous for its large ruff of skin that flares out when it feels threatened, making itself look substantially bigger and more fierce than it really is.

So in order to compete with the big guys, don’t be afraid to do a little pretending yourself.  Here’s 3 easy ways your small business can be like the Frilled Lizard:

1.  Get a business phone line with business features.

If you don’t want clients to necessarily know you’re a one or two-person shop, having a business phone line with a recorded message and menu options will immediately give them a sense that you’re a much bigger business.

I know what you’re thinking, I can’t afford a fancy business phone line.  Well, maybe you can.

If you own a cell phone—and I’m guessing you do as a recent survey suggests that one-fifth of small business owners feel they could not survive without their mobile devices—why not put it to work as your business line as well?  For example, there’s a fantastic new application for the iPhone called Line2.

The New York Times described the business benefits of Line2 best:

Line2 offers a raft of features that are intended to help a small business look bigger:  call screening, Do Not Disturb hours and voice mail messages sent to you as e-mail.  You can create an “automated attendant” – “Press 1 for sales,” Press 2 for accounting,” and so on – that routes incoming calls to other phone numbers.

As an iPhone app, you can manage your second phone number all through your iPhone. The best thing about Line2 for small business owners:  it’s only $15 a month.

If you don’t own an iPhone, you still have some great options.  Google Voice, which will be widely available to the public soon, offers flexible features like do not disturb, call forwarding, call screening, transcribed voicemail, and more.  Google Voice will be supported on most Android handsets (you may need to check with your wireless carrier to be sure they support it, too).  For non-iPhone or Android users, you may want to consider a virtual office or phone system service, such as Grasshopper.com, which offers both toll-free and local numbers, unlimited extensions, forwarding, and voicemails by email.

2.  Move beyond PayPal

In the early days of the Internet, the idea of using a credit card to buy something on the web felt a little like playing Russian roulette.  Then PayPal came along and helped us get more comfortable with the idea of buying online.

These days, of course, using a credit card online is pretty much second nature.  Not only are ecommerce websites more secure, but most credit cards now have built-in protections for online purchases.

As such, it’s probably time for your business to move beyond PayPal.  Don’t get me wrong, PayPal is still popular and convenient for some shoppers, but it’s no longer the standard payment option offered online.  If anything, most reputable ecommerce websites that accept PayPal offer it in addition to major credits card.

But you might be thinking, How can my little business qualify for a merchant account?

Well, although it’s fairly easy to acquire a PayPal merchant account, you’d be surprised how easy it is to get a real merchant account, too.   So you might want to check it out.  Unfortunately, by only accepting PayPal in 2010, you run the risk of coming off as “small time.”

As an additional tip, be sure to use a dedicated SSL certificate when setting up your ecommerce site—using a shared SSL will also reek of small time.  Although a shared certificate will encrypt transactions just as effectively as a dedicated one, there’s a notable difference.  With a shared SSL, the URL  will change to a different address (the address the shared SSL is assigned to) when a shopper enters the secured area of your site.  This is a huge red flag for savvy online shoppers and may make them think twice before entering their payment information.

3.  Get fancy with your email address

A couple years ago, around the time Bret Favre “retired” from the Green Bay Packers, I went online to see how much it would cost to get a signed Favre jersey.  I quickly found a sports memorabilia shop in Florida that actually had one I could afford.

I’ve never been to Florida, so I didn’t have any expectation of ever hearing of this shop before, but the website was nice and it appeared legitimate.  But I had some questions about the jersey, so I went to the “about us” page to get an email address.  The email address was a Yahoo! Account.

This scared me off, and I didn’t end up buying the Jersey.

Unfortunately, if you’re running your own business, nothing will reek more of small time (or worse, not credible) than having a email address from a free email service provider.  If you have a website for your business (and if you don’t, that, too, will come off as small time) check with your hosting company or webmaster to see how you can get one.  Services like Gmail also have options to use your own domain.

Here’s a couple more Frilled Lizard tricks you might want to consider regarding your business email account:

• Create a nice auto-responder to acknowledge that you received their email, and to set an expectation on how long it will take for you to get back to them.
• Create email addresses, or alias addresses, for different roles (i.e. sales@, support@, feedback@, etc.).
• Append a professional-looking signature on all emails, including on all replies.  This should include your title, business phone number, and email address.

Well, there you have it.  Looking bigger couldn’t be easier.  If you’re a small business owner, let us know about any tricks you use to appear “bigger.”  For everyone else, let us know what you think.  Is it important for your business to appear bigger in order to be considered credible?  Let us know in the comments below.

For those who may not be “in the know,” South by Southwest (fondly known as SXSW) is coming up later this week in Austin, kicking off on March 12. There are three unique segments to this yearly event, broken up into the interactive, film and music portions. If my bank account was a bit more robust at the present time, I’d be attending both the interactive and music portions, but alas, I will only be attending the interactive portion, which in itself will be chock-full of valuable insights. There’s always next year to befriend Thom Yorke…if the rumor mill is true.

Techies covet this event, and often treat it as a yearly pilgrimage to feed their scientific souls. I however, will be approaching the event with a focused eye on social media and small business. It’s my goal to glean as much as I possibly can, so I can return to breathe new and improved nuggets of genius into this blog. Our goal after all is to create a reliable resource for those of you operating businesses on the front lines. Consider me your conduit to the brilliance that is bound to emerge from a long weekend of seminars, workshops and keynotes with the online world’s elite.

Being an interactive event, I’ve had the agony pleasure of sifting through five days of events running from 9 a.m. to midnight, and I think I’ve successfully whittled my schedule down to a good mix of sessions and interactive panels.

I wanted to take a few moments before I go about over-packing my bags to review some of the sessions I’m anticipating the most:

Social Media Marketing for Your Business with Tony Adam and Chris Winfield. Now that many small business owners are immersed in the basics of social media, perhaps it’s time to graduate to a more advanced, strategic approach. This seminar proposes to help attendees do just that.

Customer Service Goes Social with Melanie Baker. A recent study just revealed that social media adoption by U.S. small businesses has doubled since 2009. Given that compelling statistic, it’s clear that more and more businesses are engaging with customers online. Moreover, customer service via social media is changing the way businesses relate to their customers and vice versa. I’m very excited to sit in on this one and hope to bring some key insights back to this blog.

Video Search Optimization Strategies to Grow Your Business with Bill Leake. It’s no secret that Google loves blogs and multimedia. In fact, you’ve probably noticed more and more relevant videos popping up in the top of your search engines, right? This is one area that is growing rapidly for both B2C and B2B businesses. This will only increase moving forward so it’s worth keeping an eye on this emerging practice.

Marketing: Unmasked: Insider’s Tips + Tricks for Success in Small Business Marketing with Stephanie Frost and Erik Wolf. This discussion is based on a book written by the discussion hosts. It delves into all things small business, and will likely provide an overview of the topics touched on inside of the book including small business marketing, social media, SEO, branding, advertising and more.

How to Unplan Your Business Idea with David Sloly and Ian Sanders. I suppose this one stuck out to me because the notion the title suggests is so opposite of what we’ve been taught and practiced throughout the years. Clearly these guys know how to grab attention with a sensationalized title. Consider me curious…

So, for those of you who can’t make it this year, are there any questions you’d like me to ask on your behalf? I’d be happy to investigate some of the topics you’re most interested in and report back here. Also, be sure to follow the Newtek crew on Twitter during the Interactive conference at #NewtSXSW.