CopperRain Launches New Video Marketing Tools
October 26, 2006
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Fairy Godmother Nancy Cadjan, of Sign Babies reports:
Start Up Princess Lorri Randle from CopperRain gave a recent presentation on the use of video for business marketing. Some surprising statistics were mentioned. Now that millions of people are using the Internet and many have broadband high-speed internet, it has become increasingly popular for people to watch video online. The obstacles of putting a video on an internet site are no longer there.
However, many marketers are not tapping into this audience because they think it is too expensive. Lorri’s opinion is that businesses can’t afford not to do something video. Video on your business website enhances it:
- You are more trustworthy
- You differentiate yourself from competitors
- Websites with video have higher conversion rates
Lorri’s company CopperRain has a new concept called the Feature Story– a packaged video that tells a story about your business or product and is cost effective. This 3-5 minute video costs $1500 and can be shot in one afternoon and up on your site within a week (probably for people in the Wasatch Front). This is a cost effective way to get video on your site. From personal experience, I have paid the same amount for a flash clip that was not as dynamic as the videos.
Tips on Getting A Sponsor
October 26, 2006
Chris Knudsen , VP of Sales at Podango just offered some excellent advice about how to get a sponsor for your business, conference, or podcast:
- Sell the value of the sponsorship opportunity
- Focus on benefits, not features or price (for example: airbags are a feature, but talk about how they are a benefit because they make your family safe)
- Consider trade sponsorships
- Consider companies who otherwise would be doing direct mail pieces to your audience
Introducing Start Up Princess Heather Ledeboer
October 26, 2006
A few years ago Heather Ledeboer Founder of Mom4Life was working as an elementary ed teacher and wanted to be home with her new baby, so she began searching for a solution to provide income through the internet. She began with $100 and an eBay account. She says,
eBay is a great way to start without needing to have much in the way of start up costs. You don’t need a domain name, website, business cards. . . The fees have made profits smaller and have made it no longer profitable enough for sellers who have very small profit margins. However, eBay is not my main focus any longer. It is just a side stream of income now that I am focusing on my website. It is still profitable for me though and for many, many others.
Heather also launched a very basic site that her husband designed and now three years later it’s been professionally redesigned and she features a full range of natural, healthy, innovative products for mothers and children. Heather has seen a dramatic increase in sales over the last year as she has been actively placing ads in national magazines. I was surprised to hear that her sales jumped after she placed ads because I think this a-typical, however, Heather’s very savvy. She groups her vendors together on a page and asks them to help pay for the ad, then they all share the cost.
As I was trying to get our schedules together, it was a bit of a challenge, one day she was off to meet a client at Disneyland with her kids (cool idea!), another time I had something going on, however, once we realized that we were both online between 11pm and 1am, then we got to know each other better. I would ask a question and she’d instantly answer. She even told me I could call her a midnight! I love Heather’s dedication to her family, the inspiration of her business and how she has hired several people to help her to grow her business so she can be focused on her children throughout the day. She says that if she can’t do her business between 8 and 1am, then it’s time to hire someone else. Some people would hate to be working everynight at these hours, but that’s mom entrepreneurs for you…we have to choose to work either very late or very early!
She says: My 5 year goal is to turn up the “heat” with more print advertising to grow online sales to be double (at least) what they are now. I also plan to open my first physical location. My 5-20 year goal is to have Mom 4 Life be franchised in locations across the US.
We’re thrilled to have Heather in our network of amazing women entrepreneurs! Learn more about her by reading her profile page.
Stay Healthy
October 26, 2006
Speaking of Orange Soda, that reminds me of vitamin C. My kids have all be sick lately so I’ve been taking extra supplements, trying to eat more healthy, and have thought about getting more sleep… just haven’t implemented that one yet. So far so good..
Today’s Magic Wand: Emerg’En’C packets found in natural health food stores. I take one of these a day, they have 1000 mg of vitamin C. They also have some for kids. And they’re fizzy, which also reminds me of Orange Soda.
Orange Soda Offers Start Up Princess Some Fizz…
October 25, 2006
We are very excited and pleased to announce that Orange Soda, a full-service interactive online marketing company is now a sponsor of Start Up Princess.
I was delighted to meet with two of the Start Up Kings, Chris Finkin and Derek Miner in their very hip and fun new office in Orem and lucky me, it was “Muffin Wednesday” (I smell another magic wand of the day, guys). Yum! They even offered me some orange soda to go with it. Great branding!
Their business provides affordable services for small to mid-sized companies that want to increase their web traffic. The have offices located in Orem, Utah and in Las Vegas.
We have some big dreams for this site and we’re thrilled that Orange Soda is going to help us get there. Thank you, Orange Soda!!
Fairy Godmother, Gina Gwozdz Talks about Receipts
October 25, 2006
Gina Gwozdz is a Tax Accountant in Texas.
Her magical tips:
The most tedious and dreaded part of running a small business for most owners is maintaining their accounting records. The IRS requires every business owner to maintain accurate records so that they can determine if you have properly reported all your income and expenses. If your small business was ever audited you would have to prove every deduction your business claimed. The only way to do this is by showing them your receipts for every business expense.
I have found that the easiest way for new businesses to do this is to have a folder that corresponds to each tax item on their return. For example, if you are a sole proprietor your file folders would probably include:
- Income Your Business Received
- Returns and Refunds
- Inventory purchased for resale
- Advertising
- Car and Truck Expenses
- Commissions and Fees
- Contract Labor
- Employee Benefits
- Insurance
- Interest
- Legal and Professional Services
- Office Expense
- Pension and Profit Sharing Plans
- Rent
- Repairs and Maintenance
- Supplies
- Taxes & Licenses
- Travel
- Meals & Entertainment
- Utilities
- Wages
- Other Expenses
- Business Use of Your Home
- Business assets used more than one year
- Cash – Bank Accounts
- Credit Cards
- Loans
Many businesses use software programs to help them add up all their receipts. This is perfectly acceptable, but you still need to maintain the original receipts and having them in separate file folders will make them much easier to find in the future.
Usually the IRS has 3 years to audit your company, but under certain situations, they can audit you as far as 6 years back. For this reason it is probably wise to keep all receipts for at least 6 years. Receipts that are related to assets that are used in your business for more than one year, such as buildings, equipment, furniture, etc. should be kept until 3-6 years after you sell or otherwise dispose of the item.
Brought to You by…
October 25, 2006
Everybody’s doing it, including Start Up Princess. Why not you?
Today’s Magic Wand: Find a Sponsor. If you want to learn who is one of the best at doing this, read Chris Knudsen’s blog. He doesn’t give a lot of tips in the area on his blog, but he’s the best, you can sense his passion and energy. He does consulting. He’s finding sponsors everyday for his new gig at Podango. That is how you get a sponsor, you sell them on your concept and dream. Today I have a meeting with a potential sponsor for this site who approached me, that’s pretty darn dreamy. But, I’m looking for others and have been approaching them. Found one yesterday to help us with our podcasts in trade for an ad. We want to redesign the site, so I’m going to be approaching a graphic designer…interested?
Fear Factor in Starting Your Business?
October 24, 2006
Be honest. I want to see comments on this post. I can’t be the only one afraid of launching my business. I’ve been planning and preparing and pitching and meeting with mentors and blogging…using “no funding” as an excuse. So, what is the REAL reason I haven’t launched yet? Fear. Doubt. Why be afraid? The universe is on my side! Somehow, I forget what I preach.
I never really called it “fear” until today. I had all sorts of names for it, “I’m not ready”, “I need…”, “I want…”, “I just had a baby…”, “Next…”. Just start somewhere, something everyone tells me…”but, I can’t!” You can’t start a brand that isn’t ready, that isn’t stellar. That isn’t Nordstrom…just start, go 80%, get out there. Prove it.
Truth hurts, but it also helps me to grow. After a few “in your face” conversations with mentors, my husband, and a sweet Fairy Godmother of mine, I realized that all of this delay is fear. Fear of what? Failing. Not measuring up to the awards I’ve received. Not fulfilling other people’s expectations of what it should be…or what I want it to be. I want every detail to be perfect. But I can’t wait anymore for that, I need to just get my feet wet.
But the truth is, anyone who starts anything has fears and it’s time I embrace mine and realize that fears in business is a good thing, because it forces you to work harder and do your best, right? Dive in. That’s my new motto. My husband gave me a little bit of cash today, I’m using it to “just start.” One step in front of the other…
How did you dive in? How did you overcome your fears?
Answer Her Questions
October 24, 2006
Fairy Godmother, Holly Buchanan, Marketing Expert shares the following post about how to reach your audience more effectively:
What questions are your customers asking? Do you know? Are you answering their questions?
Take a 38 year old mother of 4. She has a big family. She does A LOT of laundry – but she genuinely loves her family and takes pride in a job well done. Her question is, “Is there a towel that can be washed day in and day out, but still remain soft?â€
Most towel companies say their towels are soft, but do they remain soft after multiple washings? Lands End answers her question.
Unlike “Treated Towels†Ours Start Out Soft and Become Softer with Every Wash.
Lots of towels are coated with chemicals to make them feel soft on the store shelf. But wash them a couple times and their softness goes down the drain. Not ours! Because we use better cotton and superior construction, our towels get plumper and softer with every wash, Guaranteed.
If she were on a website and saw a link that said “Choose a towel that remains soft through lots of laundering.†Do you think she’d click on it?
Lands End goes on to describe the towel further, which is great. You always want to back up your claim. But most website product copy would start with this copy – it’s typical features/benefit copy you see everywhere.
We use only the top 3% of cotton grown in the United States.. Farmed for its extra-long, strong fibers, Supima cotton feels softer, lasts longer and pills far less. Start with better cotton and you end up with a better towel.
Most companies are so focused on their selling points, they fail to answer her questions. You can give her your selling points once you’ve answered her question – but always answer her questions first. If you’re answering her questions, and your competition’s website isn’t…who is she going to feel better about and ultimately give her money to?
For more of Fairy Godmother Holly’s wisdom visit her blog.
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Start Up Princesses in Guatemala
October 24, 2006
The following photo was taken by graphic designer, Start Up Princess Kimberly Schwede on a recent trip to Guatemala!
