Author: Lisa Chapman

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A Targeted Sales Letter Can Work Magic for Direct Marketing

Hand slipping a white paper into a brown envelope

Guest Author: Jan Hill

Targeted Sales Letter

Photo Credit: http://mrg.bz/L74uGu

Direct mail marketing need not be expensive or complicated. According to Forbes, a simple letter can be extremely powerful, all by itself. Whether you are planning to send a physical letter or an email, the elements of a successful sales letter stay the same.

When Letters Are Your Best Bet

There are times when a sales letter is most effective. One is when you notice that certain customers have stopped being your customers. A simple “We miss you and want you back” letter can encourage them to come back to you where an email may not have the same personal feeling and individualized effect. Conversely, an email can be scheduled to arrive in your customer’s inbox at a time that can maximize its effectiveness, so your approach will depend on your product or service and campaign goals.

According to Deliver magazine, if you’ve got a story to tell and it is going to take more than a few words, a sales letter is the way to go, especially if your product or service is costly — big purchases require more persuasion than small ones. Reply cards, coupons, a bulky item (to encourage that the mailer get opened), and customer testimonials can and should accompany your letter to increase its effectiveness.

Emailed sales letters are best when timing is crucial. For example, if you sell food products it might make sense to send an email around 3pm, when your target audience may be experiencing post-lunch low blood sugar and snacking might be front and center in their mind. Or, you might want to target customers in advance of a known event, like sending a sales email about stocking up on cyclist clothing before the largest bike ride of the year. Email sales letters pair nicely with online storefronts and impulse purchasing.

Introducing a new business? You need a letter to engage your target in your story. You can also share updates about your products or services and offer discounts with a well-crafted sales letter.

How to Write a Winning Letter for Direct Marketing Success

Tony Attwood of Hamilton House Mailings offers some tips for writing effective sales letters. First of all, there’s the headline. It should be powerful, get the reader’s attention, and be placed about one-fourth of the way down the page, where the eyes naturally fall.

Make sure your sales letter follows good design practices and has a positive visual impact. There are many sales letter templates available that will incorporate your company logo, branding, and colors to give the document your personal touch.

A sales letter should be easy to read, using short paragraphs of two or three sentences each, including lots of white space at the margins and between paragraphs. It should always be written to an individual, not a group, and have a tone meant to engage your readers in a conversation. It should sound like you do, casual and informal, not stiff, stilted, and filled with bizspeak.

Sales letters need to have staying power, according to Microsoft Business Hub. You need to make your letter memorable and encourage the reader to tuck it away for future reference. You can quickly build trust by placing an endorsement from a former client or associate at the top of your letter to quickly create interest.

Because many readers are skimmers, the first few words of each paragraph need to draw the reader in by addressing problems and offering a solution — “One argument might be…,” or, “The best way to solve this problem is…,” or “Potential benefits are…”

Don’t Forget Your Conclusion

Hopefully your letter has done the job of convincing your readers that they need your product or service. Now you need a good, persuasive closing, and a strong call to action, telling the readers what they should do next — call or email you, or say that you’ll get in touch with them. Then make sure you follow up by doing what you said you’d do.

A call to action should clearly state what you want your readers to do; make the action easy by including order blanks, postcards, or postage-paid envelopes. If it’s an email letter, make sure to include appropriate links to more information or contact forms. Provide a date by which you want the contact to respond; and give them a benefit to stimulate action. This benefit, sometimes referred to as a “clincher,” appears appropriately at the end of your sales letter. It serves to motivate your readers and emphasizes how your product or service will benefit them.

Author Bio:

Jan Hill is a freelance journalist who writes for VistaprintDeals.com, the official source for Vistaprint coupons for small businesses across the globe. Jan has covered marketing topics for many newspapers, magazines and business sites over the last 10 years.

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Twitter is Best for Generating B2B Marketing

A phone with twitter login screen

Twitter B-2-BGuest Author: Donna Lee

If you’re wondering where to connect online with customers and prospects, and colleagues in the B2B sector, the smart money is on Twitter. According to Technorati, an astounding 85 percent of companies recognize Twitter as their social media platform for marketing. The appeal is easy to understand.

Not only is it a great place to reach out to new customers, but Twitter also offers crowdsourced advice instantly. If you’re looking for no-contract phone plans, a simple search will return real-time opinions and links to providers. While many used to lampoon the site as a place for the self-absorbed to announce their choice of breakfast foods to the world, the reality is that it’s a force to be reckoned with now, offering businesses entirely new ways to reach potential customers, conduct customer service and build their brand.

Marketing

With over 554 million users registered across the globe as of April 2013, Twitter offers business access to a vast audience and free, open platform for sharing marketing messages. This arrangement essentially levels the business playing field. Now, even the smallest micro-business can enjoy the kind of reach once only available to corporate giants. The platform’s interactive nature means that rather than simply broadcasting a message to followers companies can develop relationships with them — a crucial advantage over old-school mass media approaches. Further, as Hubspot’s Mike Volpe points out, Twitter’s 140-character, micro-blogging format is the perfect platform for busy CEOs to contribute to the company’s “voice” without committing to writing long, labor intensive posts.

Customer Service

What’s really interesting about Twitter is that it not only allows companies to reach out to customers, but it also allows customers to start conversations with companies. In practical terms, that often means voicing customer requests. Make no mistake, these customers expect a response, and they expect it quickly — but this provides an ideal opportunity for building a public face. By solving customer service issues publicly on Twitter, a business can both save a current customer and impress future customers who may be watching.

If necessary, be ready to move the conversation off Twitter and into an email exchange or a phone call. Some problems are too complex to be solved in a flurry of 140-character posts, and doing the best you can for the customer trumps keeping the exchange public. More importantly, always provide exemplary customer support on Twitter. Treating a customer poorly in front of a Twitter audience armed with retweet buttons is a bad idea indeed.

Branding

Twitter also offers a serious platform for building your business’s brand. A big part of that, as already mentioned, is establishing your company’s voice in the minds of your followers. Additionally, any business on Twitter should give great consideration to their choice of Twitter handle, avatar, profile text, and profile images. Stephanie Haller reminds companies that followers will see their avatar images and Twitter handles in their stream each time the company posts, making these two elements extremely important from a branding perspective.

Author Bio:

Donna Lee reviews social media tools and apps for project management. A business graduate, she likes to write about utilizing social media to benefit businesses.

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How to Creatively Market Your Brand (Without Annoying the Consumer)

Branding and Marketing Text on a White Surface

Guest Author: Joyce Smith

In today’s saturated market, it’s becoming harder and harder to make your company stand out. Brands have become virtually indistinguishable from each other.

That’s why it’s so important to advertise outside the box. You have to think of innovative ways of reaching your target audience without inundating the consumer. Ads in traditional media like TV and print just don’t cut it any more.

Core Principles

To truly establish or expand your brand, your company needs to focus on these core principles:

  • More community engagement
  • Incorporating branding into daily logistics
  • Creating brand ambassadors

If you would like to be established as an industry leader, follow these simple steps to cement your company’s public image and gain a competitive edge.

Swag

If you’re trying to make a lasting impression on a potential client, give that person a branded item that he or she won’t immediately throw away. Or recruit staff to become your “brand ambassadors” by wearing or using the swag in the community.

Affordable, fun ideas for potential company swag are hats, wristbands, temporary tattoos or cell phone cases. If you have the budget, you could also manufacture an extensive line of branded apparel (company swim trunks, anyone?).

Whatever swag you choose should be something your brand ambassador can use or wear and distribute to others. Avoid obnoxious branding and opt for a subtle logo instead. People are more inclined to ask questions if isn’t already spelt out for them.

Community Sponsorship

Building a public image is more than just throwing up a website and a few paid ads and commercials. It’s about molding the public’s perception of your business and what it represents.

Little league sports teams. Charity runs or walks. Fundraising concerts. If your company sponsors any of the above, you’re guaranteed to boost your public image. And all those involved – the baseball players, run organizers, etc. – become your brand ambassadors by sporting your logo.

With whatever cause you attach your company’s name to, encourage your staff to volunteer in record numbers. A team show of support will cement your reputation as a company who cares.

Branded Shipping

Like many business logistics, outsourcing your transportation needs has made shipping product a lot more convenient and manageable. Most fleet management companies will pick up the supply, warehouse it and make sure it’s delivered according to your schedule.

Trucking companies can also benefit your business in a way that most people wouldn’t think about – creative branding. Fleet companies adopt their clients’ branding while they ship their product from point A to point B. They plaster their trucks with your logos, and outfit their drivers in colors that match your branding.

Branded transportation (be it trucks, hot air balloons or trains) is like mobile billboard advertising – difficult to quantify, but guaranteed to be seen by many.

Guerilla Advertising

Guerilla advertising is a strategy that uses unconventional methods (flash mobs, street art, interactive demonstrations, etc.) to promote a brand. It can be highly effective and even newsworthy, but it has to be done right.

In homage to street artists like Banksy, you can use guerilla advertising to infiltrate city streets, public parks, zoos, aquariums, etc. The backdrop of your street “ad” should be relevant to your business in order to truly make a statement.

Your ad should include limited contact information, like your company’s name and website. A little mystery will help to intrigue passer-bys, who are essentially your target consumer audience.

If you implement the above tactics, you’re guaranteed to build a name for your company. Or, if your brand’s already entrenched in the consumer psyche, than you’ll generate buzz that will elevate you far above the competition.

Author Bio:

Joyce Smith has over 10 years of work experience in PR and marketing. She’s a part time yoga instructor and full time Leafs fan. Joyce also does consulting for Canada Cartage Systems, a leading trucking company in Canada.

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How to Write Your Business Blog Posts So They Are SEO Friendly

Tiles saying SEO

Guest Author: Eric Stauffer

If you’re looking to increase your company’s web traffic and improve your SEO campaign, there’s one sure-fire way to do it: create a blog. A business blog can give you a great outlet not just to provide pertinent and helpful information for your customers, but to also afford you additional opportunities to use your keywords, increase links and gain exposure for your website.

But creating business blog posts that are both readable and SEO-friendly isn’t always the easiest task. Need some help? Follow these quick tips.

  1. Look for longtail keywords. Longtail keywords are going to be your most effective and lead-generating type of keyword. They are highly specific phrases that are usually three words or more in length. “Black V-neck T-shirt,” for example, is a longtail keyword. When a customer searches for this term, they already know exactly what they are looking for; they’re simply looking for the source. By using these keywords, you’re ensuring your traffic is as qualified as possible.
  2. Use your keywords in your title, URL, headings and subheadings. Each of these areas is weighted heavily by search engines. When you place your keywords in these areas, it’s more likely to affect (and improve) your SEO rankings. Additionally, it’s much easier to work long or awkward keywords into headings and titles than it is to integrate them into sentences or paragraphs, where they could muddle your overall flow and confuse readers.
  3. Always add tags. Most blogging platforms, like WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger, allow you to add categorical tags to your posts. These signal to search engines (and readers) what sort of information your blog post contains, so they can be prioritized in search results. Take advantage of these tags by working in any applicable keywords. This will not only improve your SEO, but will bring in more qualified readers and customers.
  4. Get linking. When possible link important keywords or phrases to other blog posts or pages on your site. These will increase the number of links for your site, and it will enhance exposure for your keywords as well. Both of these can be a great boon to SEO rankings.
  5. Use images to your advantage. Name your images using your keywords and phrases, and make sure to include an SEO-friendly alt tag with each one. When possible, add a caption that includes your keywords as well. These actions won’t just increase your on-page SEO, but they’ll also help your images get displayed in Google Image Search (and other image searches) that can lead potential customers to your site.
  6. Find a keyword balance. Try to focus on just one or two keywords per post. Aim to work each keyword in once every 100 words or so. This will ensure you get the keyword in enough for search engines to pick up on it, but not so much that you overload your text with keywords, and end up confusing your readers.
  7. Add a meta description. If your blogging platform allows for it, always include an optimized meta description with each post you create. The description should be around 150 to 160 words and include each of the keywords you use in your post.
  8. Cross promote where you can. If you have a Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or other social media account, always cross promote your blog posts there. Include a link, along with a teaser that both uses your keywords and entices people to check out your content. This not only increases the number of links to your blog, but it also exposes your brand to new potential customers and readers. Plus, search engines give a lot of weight to social media sites, so it could greatly improve your SEO rankings, too.

Eric Stauffer is a professional blogger and small business advocate. His organization, CardPaymentOptions.com, helps business owners navigate the murky waters of the payment processing industry and teaches them how to get a fair deal.

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3 Tips for Marketing within Small Online Communities

A tab displaying online marketing on the screen

Guest Author: Megan Webb-Morgan

A study from Social Media Explorer found that 90% of the trackable online discussions around banking occurred in online forums, and those online communities ranked first or second in all business sectors. Small online communities represent a significant opportunity for reaching out to new customers.

In a recent Business.com article, SEO guru Nick Stamoulis suggests, “While larger social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn might have millions of members and therefore a much farther potential reach, small and hyper-specialized social communities instantly connect you with exactly your target audience.”

Tactics for marketing to industry peers, partners, and customers within small online communities are vastly different from traditional online marketing. You can’t post advertisements and expect that to suffice – you need to become a valuable member of the community.

Just as social media marketing is centered around follower engagement, marketing within small online communities is centered around thoughtful discussion, valuable input, and relationship building.

Engage in Discussions

No matter what business sector or niche they are dedicated to, message boards, forums, chat rooms, and mailing lists are all centered around one activity: discussion. A member starts a new forum thread by posting a link, question, article, image, or other content and inviting discussion on the topic. The discussion generated is far more valuable than the original content. This is in direct contrast with many social engagement strategies, which focus on shares and don’t take into account the discussions that go on beneath the fold.

Any contribution you make to a message board needs to keep this fact in mind. Posts that are clearly marketing-oriented and don’t add value to the discussion will quickly be deleted, and your account will soon gain a reputation as a spammer (if it isn’t outright deleted as well). Before you can engage in any marketing, you need to establish yourself as a valuable, contributing member of the community.

• Post answers to members’ questions. The answer should not be, “My business/product/service.”
• Ask questions that could help your business or your customers.
• Comment on interesting posts and topics.

Keep your tone professional and informative. The key is to brand yourself as an authority in your industry whose word can be trusted.

Post Valuable Content

Similar to your online marketing strategy, any content you post should be of value to the people looking at it. However, when participating in online communities, it isn’t enough to post a link to your business and ask members to visit. Such threads will be ignored, derided, or deleted. Remember that the only way members will react positively to your presence on the board – and go on to visit your business – is if you provide value.

• Post links to news articles, blog posts, or whitepapers about your business sector that could be valuable to others. Establish your knowledge and professionalism before you start touting the merits of your business.
• Many boards use a member rating system to assess each individual’s social stock. The more you post, the higher your stock rises. Some boards even enable members to rate the quality of each other’s posts.

Build Relationships

Small online communities are just that – communities. Communities are formed by relationships. You wouldn’t throw your sales pitch at everyone in your hometown town – whether in your office, at the gas pump, or in line at the grocery store – because people would soon start crossing the street to avoid you. Instead, you need to build relationships with members of your community that, once again, provide value to all parties involved.

• Building relationships on forums is comprised not only of public discussions, but also via private messaging. Members use the board’s direct message function to expand discussions into other areas, offer and ask for advice, and seek opinions of respected members.

Once you have established your presence on a forum, proven yourself to be a valuable member of the community, and built relationships with the board’s power players, marketing opportunities will arise: from referrals, to offers of partnerships or affiliate marketing, to appropriate occasions for self-promotion.

Guest Author Bio:

Megan Webb-Morgan is a business blogger for a variety of business blogs worldwide. She works for Resource Nation, a leader in the B2B lead generation industry.

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Key Steps To Online Reputation Protection

Group of people in a meeting

Guest Author: Jean Ryan

How to Avoid a PR Disaster

Of course, you do not have to be a big corporate honcho or Hollywood star to care about your online reputation. The majority of businesses, both big and small, maintain websites as well as various social media accounts. Today, a bad review or report on your products, services, or employees can easily snowball into an online PR disaster. According to statistics published by FirePath Communications, 73% of consumers believe information published online is accurate. A staggering 83% say that this information influences their purchase decisions. Even if you do not run a business, online reputation matters a lot. According to a study carried out by digital marketing firm KBSD, 78% of recruiters consider online reputation during the hiring process. These statistics show the importance of reputation protection. Keep reading to find out more about this delicate subject.

Assessing your Online Reputation

Before taking any steps to manage your online reputation, you need to make a careful assessment of the situation. To start with, use the major search engines to see what information is on the Internet under your business or personal name. While at it, check all major social media platforms as well and note the top 20 or 30 search results for all the relevant keywords. Analyze the number of positive, negative, and indifferent results. This will give you a good idea of your online reputation.

Build your Reputation

Upon making a careful assessment of the search results, you need to take proactive steps to build your online reputation. Start by purchasing and registering domains and Top Level Domains (TLDs) related to your business or name. Secondly, register your name with the major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you do not act fast, cyber squatters may register your name leading to confusion among your loyal consumers. In addition, you will not be able to reach a wider audience.

Set Privacy Settings

While purchasing and registering your names is a good first step, it is hardly enough. Therefore, you must act to protect your personal information by managing privacy settings on your blogs, websites, and social media accounts properly. Obviously, you would not want cyber criminals or other people to stumble upon private photographs of your partying antics.

Monitoring your Online Reputation

After the hard work of assessing and building your online reputation, you cannot afford to rest on your laurels. As such, you must monitor every mention of your business name, brand, and employees for as long as you maintain a web presence. The good news is there are hundreds of tools that you can use to monitor online conversations about your company. These include Google Alerts, Yahoo Alerts, Twitter Search, Twitter Fall, Feed Reader, and Technorati. If you have capable programmers in-house, you can set up a customized tool for monitoring your online reputation.

What people say about you or your business is likely to affect your chances of getting a job or if you are a businessperson, your chances of selling products or services. Either way, you need online reputation protection. Start by assessing the way people view your brand, employees, or services. Build your reputation by purchasing all relevant TLDs and domains and register your name with all the major social media platforms. Use privacy settings to protect critical business and personal information.

For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Marketing and Social Media.

About the Author

Jean Ryan is an online entrepreneur and writer who helps online merchants improve their online reputation through savvy social networking and daily web monitoring.

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Social Media Strategies to Promote a Small Business on A National Scale

Phone displaying different social media icons

Guest Author: Grace Beckett

How Does a Small Business Gain National Attention?

Most small businesses are not localized and can serve customers in any location as they are Internet-based or are e-commerce websites. These types of businesses need to be able to attract a steady stream of leads and customers on a national level. The social media marketing strategy and the content marketing strategy of these companies must not be to promote the brand locally but nationally and to not give the brand a very local identity. So how does a small business gain a national audience?

Create share-worthy content

First and foremost, as a small business owner you should create content that will be of some use to your customers and followers. Create content on your company website, blogs or guest blogging platforms and share it on all your social networking platforms. Most businesses make the mistake of putting phrases claiming that they are the best in certain cities or states and include local statistics. To promote your business nationally, you need to show your audience that you provide the same level of high quality services everywhere. Creating this type of content will also encourage your customers and social network followers to post it on various online forums, which can get you a national audience.

Choose the best social media platform and posting frequency

There are so many social networking sites that it is not possible to use all with the same level of efficacy. Facebook and Twitter is a must for any type of business and you must post content on them as frequently as possible. Make sure to include visual content like videos and images along with textual content as this gets more attention and is inherently more share-worthy. If the product or service offered by your company is more visual or if their USP lies in their aesthetics, include Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, etc. in the social media strategy. Pinterest is an excellent way of getting your products noticed and you can even include product details and prices with the pins.

Posting should be done as frequently as possible – at least once a day. However, the rush to post should not take precedence over the quality of the content. If you cannot post content on these platforms daily without compromising on content, then don’t. Create and maintain a posting schedule that works best for you.

Optimize content and websites

The content that is being distributed by you via different channels should not contain any local keywords or keywords that trigger search engines to list your business in local searches. The keywords should contain words like “national” or “country-wide” to make sure that your national businesses is promoted effectively. Look at the keywords used by competitors and other national companies and use the same. Similarly, you do not have to create different websites for each region if your business is national. One main website can contain links to different web pages for different regions. As most large companies do, they have contact information for each region in different web pages but in the same website.

Promotional strategies

To create a buzz around your social media pages, one of the best ways is to create weekly contests that all your followers can participate in. Hashtag contests are the most popular contests on Twitter, which not only makes your hashtags more popular on the micro-blogging platform but also increases your engagement with fans and followers. You can also reward “Fan of the week” or “customer of the week” award for loyal followers and customers on social media platforms. Supporting a national charity like Red Cross is also a great way to attract more customers and fans.

Summary: Learn social media marketing strategies that will help small but national businesses.

For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Marketing and Social Media.

About the author

Grace Beckett is a Content Strategist with Godot Media – a leading Content Management firm. She has years of experience in working closely with online businesses, helping them refine their marketing and social media strategies through optimum use of content. Her other interests, besides online content strategy, internet marketing and search engine optimization, are technology, sports and even fashion.

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BOOST YOUR WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING USING FACEBOOK

Facebook page on a desktop screen

Guest Author: Maria Elena Duron

B2B Outreach

There are numerous social networks available, each with their own unique format and audience for your brand to take advantage of. Facebook is amongst the most popular due to its world-wide network, making it an ideal starting location to market your brand.

While it’s easy to sign up and start a page for your brand, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to generate a quality network. In order to use Facebook effectively, there are a few techniques that need to be implemented.

Back to Basics – Four Ways to Use Facebook Effectively

1. Open a business page rather than a personal account

It is wise to utilize a business page rather than a personal profile. This allows you to be “shared”, do more promotional activities, and make use of analytical tools. So, begin your brand page design by starting with a business profile rather than a personal profile. Be sure that you take advantage of the tools Facebook already offers. Use the analytics to study how well you are reaching the audience and tune your content, approach, and timing accordingly.

2. Post targeted, original content

Original material is the gateway to capturing the attention of the audience. While sharing popular trends is going to be the goal, it doesn’t mean that you can’t share them in your own unique way. Take something popular and turn it into your own unique posting. This will make it shareable by your viewers and result in more activity. The question you have to answer is: What do you offer the audience that they can’t get anywhere else?

3. Update your page with interesting changes on a regular basis

Because the online world regularly changes, consider changing themes on a regular basis. Keep your brand’s social image new and refreshed consistently. This has the added plus that it helps boost your exposure on newsfeeds. Update your profile imagery and information regularly. Consider the fact that Facebook’s Timeline now offers some new features over the previous version. Examples are a different screenshot and page feed, but the cover photo is one of the biggest changes. Make sure that your cover photo is appropriate and relevant and, like your profile photo, presents a professional image.

This brings up the importance of staying in the newsfeed with your comments and sharing. Having regular material to post is generally a good place to start and keeps you “in the public eye”. At the same time, you don’t want to overwhelm your network or litter their newsfeeds.

4. Intrigue your audience with a compelling ‘Call to Action’

The fact is that the best way to remain on the feed is to begin a conversation. Rather than simply posting material, drive your audience with a call to action. Ask a question; ask for their input, or even utilize a competition (e.g. share this link if you…) to generate activity. Of course, it’s up to you to keep the conversation going. You have to be sure that you are always ready to mediate and answer questions or ask new ones.

This is perhaps the best method since the new Timeline format promotes “likes” and “comments” that have been made throughout the user’s network. When they interact with you, it will be made available for your friends to see, making it an ideal third-party endorsement.

The social world provides plenty of opportunities to initiate word of mouth marketing through sharing. As long as you can present an image and material that entices your audience (and their friends) to share your brand, you’ll be able to optimize your results and make the most of your social endeavors.

For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Marketing and Social Media

About the Author:

Maria Elena Duron is CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks.com – a word of mouth marketing firm. She helps create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand. Maria Duron is co-founder and moderator of #brandchat – a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.

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4 Reasons Business Contracts Fall Apart

Man in blue shirt signing a business contract

Reasons for Lost ContractsGuest Author: Jon Tucker

Lost Contracts Mean Lost Revenue

Business contracts provide the legal framework for mutual agreement between two business entities. Mutual benefits are realized when the two sides offer products or services in exchange for compensation. However, problems may arise in business deals when one side or the other fails to deliver according to the terms in the contract. Since casual agreements will not provide sufficient protection against loss if an unforeseen event causes the contract to be breached, legal advice must be sought in the early stages of contract creation.
In order to avoid unpleasant surprises with respect to contract terms at a later stage of business deals, there are certain points that must be taken care of in every contract to create a legally binding agreement. They are as follows;

1. VALIDITY OF THE CONTRACT

A court of law has the final word in the validity of any business contract. Missing elements in the contract can prove to be costly and damaging to both parties. All valid contracts must possess these elements to be enforced in a court hearing.
Mutual consent, Offer and Acceptance – All parties in a contract must be allowed to enter into the agreement without any compulsion. Either party can claim that consent was not given voluntarily. So, a valid proof that the consent was freely given at the time of entering into the agreement is an important part of every contract. Acceptance of the contract terms are implied by the signatures at the end of the contract.
Sound mind – A person without sufficient mental capacity to agree to the terms of the contract would not be held to the agreement in court. For example; a party should not be in a mental state that would impair judgment, such as under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Consideration – Both parties must exchange something of value that can be easily measured. Examples are exchange of money, tangible products or paid services. Any other arrangement is considered a gift in legal terms.
Legal purpose – A court of law will not enforce a contract for an act that is against any other law of the United States or its territories. For instance, two business entities cannot sign a legally-binding contract for prostitution, human trafficking or drug running.

2. BEWARE OF HANDSHAKES

The days of a binding handshake are long gone. Every business entity must be aware of the pitfalls of working with other businesses to accomplish a common goal. Strong business partnerships are rare. In the absence of a legally binding contract, breach of trust by one party will result in legal action from the other party which is a time taking procedure. Part of the lawsuit will also include legal fees associated with resolving the dispute. A contract will be binding on both parties only when all of the elements listed above are present.

3. WARNING ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS

Start-up business partnerships are formed without consideration of all the ways that the casual agreement can be breached. Both parties should discuss beforehand the ways that each person will contribute to the business. Failure of the business brings new challenges to the situation because personal and business assets are placed in jeopardy without careful legal planning. In such a situation, courts address the situation according to the state laws that apply at the time.
Business entrepreneurs must engage the services of a qualified attorney since partnerships fall under a different set of rules from standard contracts. Ignoring the possibility of failure can be costly when outstanding debts have to be paid from the personal assets of both partners. Verbal agreements concerning the use of financial resources will not stand up in court. Every aspect of the business life must be properly documented to prevent disastrous consequences for everyone involved.

4. LEGAL COSTS

There are attorneys with specific qualifications and experience who can provide legal advice before getting into different types of contracts. Use of the same attorney for each agreement will reduce the amount of time and effort needed to draw up new contracts in the future. Legal counsel will prove to be invaluable for the business owner who wishes to deal in multiple business agreements.
It is therefore recommended that both parties understand the requirements of a legally binding contract. Contracts must be refined and the negotiation steps should be completed with each new partner. Working under valid contracts will mitigate the risk of loss if personal or business problems cause one side to breach the contract terms.

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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About the Author:

Jon Tucker is Director of ENotaryClasses.com, the leading provider of notary classes required by the State of California to become a notary public.
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Four Big Changes You Must Know About Pinterest

Young women smiling while showing pinterest icon

Guest Author: Carl Glasmyre

Pinterest reached a milestone in September 2012, when the image-sharing social media phenomenon made the top 50 list of most-visited websites. Pinterest broke into the list by attracting 25.2 million users in September, and visitor numbers are still climbing.

The growing company announced several changes in October. Some of those changes reflect the growing importance of ecommerce and marketing in social media. Others indicate Pinterest wants to maintain its reputation as a clean, safe web destination, and one indicates the social media giant plans to keep expanding.

No More Invites

When Pinterest launched, membership was by invite only. It wasn’t difficult to obtain an invite; if you didn’t already know a Pinner, you applied to the website for an invitation. The system worked well, adding an aura of exclusivity to Pinterest membership and cultivating a sense of special community.

While an inspired gimmick, the time for Pinterest invitations has passed. In response to rapid growth, the website now allows general registrations.

Trust Me, I’m Verified

In a nod to the increased importance of social media ecommerce, Pinterest launched website verification in October of 2012. Users can now verify they own websites listed on their Pinterest profile. Verifying websites should increase user trust, an importance aspect of online marketing.

Verification is a simple procedure. Users access their settings and click the Verify Website button. Pinterest generates an HTML verification file for users to upload to their web server.

The verification program, at present, only works with top-level domains. Blogging platforms and mass-user e-commerce sites cannot be verified, as such sites don’t allow users to upload the HTML file.

Keeping it Clean

As any SEO company can attest, online reputation is extremely important. Pinterest, from launch, has enjoyed a reputation as a clean, safe site. As the site’s user base grew, however, people began posting porn, spam and hate-based imagery.

Pinterest doesn’t want its reputation to suffer. In response to offensive imagery, the website now allows Pinners to block, flag and report other users. Marketers should note this means users also have the option of blocking them, which may influence how businesses present themselves on Pinterest.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Passive-Aggression

Pinterest’s influence spreads beyond its own website. Facebook, the social media site nobody likes but everyone uses, has taken note of the Pinning phenomenon. In response, Facebook plans to launch a new feature called Collections.

With Collections, companies will provide users with “want” and “collect” buttons on their Facebook profiles. Users will use these buttons to create image-based wish lists their friends can access.

Gee, doesn’t this sound familiar? Facebook hopes Collections will encourage Facebook friends to buy gifts for each other. Clicking an image in a wish list takes users to the appropriate retail page. If Collections sounds like Pinterest’s own wish lists, well, you’re not wrong.

Facebook may have a hidden agenda with Collections. Several prominent Facebook executives jumped ship to Pinterest over the last year or so. Facebook may be warning deserters they’re going to have to fight for their chunk of the social media market. And while Pinterest has loyal users, Facebook has the edge when it comes to sheer numbers.

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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Author Bio:

Carl Glasmyre is an aspiring writer who currently works for an SEO company. He’s passionate about a variety of subjects including technology, marketing, and anything Internet-related. He’s constantly striving to strengthen his writing skills and is continuously grateful that the Internet allows him to share his thoughts with the world. He can be reached at carlglasmyre@gmail.com.