One of the keys to success for every small business is a really smart marketing program that keeps existing customers in the fold and continually incites prospects to join. The program should include the most cost-effective ways to raise brand-awareness, leverage your expertise and share deals.

Although many are still hesitant to move away from snail-mail or the telephone, others are rapidly discovering that email marketing is one of the most effective means of generating sales.  Research conducted in 2009 by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) found that email outperforms all other forms of direct marketing.

If you’re new to email marketing, or want to crank it up a notch, here are three tips to help you build and grow your email marketing list without having to look for additional budget.

1. Leverage Marketing Programs You Already Have

No one can opt in if they don’t know you have valuable information to share, so don’t forget to:

• Include a line in your email that links to the sign-up page on your website.
• Bring a laptop to trade shows and ask those visiting your booth to sign-up for your emails.
• Keep sign-up cards by your store’s register.
• Refer listeners to your website in your radio ads.
• Include a link to your sign-up form in your email signature.

2. Make it Easy to Opt In

Once people are on your site, make it as easy as possible to opt in by having a very visible link on the home page and on every other webpage. Signing up should take as little time as possible, so don’t ask for too much information at this point and make sure your form is above the fold (what you see on the screen when your webpage first loads).

3.  Don’t Deluge Your Subscribers with Too Many Emails

How much is too much? It depends on your message so set expectations. Let people know what they’re in for before they hit the ’submit’ button. After they’ve had time to digest the information, ask a sample from your list what is the ‘right’ number of emails; they’ll let you know. Otherwise you’ll find out the hard way with an unsubscribe request.

About The Guest Author: Mélanie Attia is the Product Marketing Manager for Campaigner Email Marketing and is focused on managing the Campaigner marketing programs and product messaging. Campaigner’s free e-book, The Small Business Guide to Email Marketing, is now available for download.

In these tough times, the biggest impact of the economic downturn is being felt by the small business sector. This is largely because of the fact that there are fewer resources available to counter the effects of an uncertain economy. The best way for a small business to thrive nowadays is by cutting costs. Practicing frugality in your business does not mean that you are sacrificing the quality and service level of your company. Cost cutting on certain aspects of your business could just be the economic stimulus needed to let you bounce back from an economic spiral.

Basically, there are six areas you can start spending less on but still retain the quality of your products and services. These are: technology, overhead costs, fixed assets, marketing, insurance or finances and travel. Every entrepreneur knows how important it is to be updated on the latest trends in technology to give the business a fighting chance with its bigger competitors. This does not mean however, that you need to spend more than what you can realistically allot. There are cheaper alternatives you can find as long as you do your research on what they are. Like for software, there is open-source software which offers similar features with commercial products at a lower cost.

You also might want to look into using energy-efficient technology. There is a tax benefit to help promote green technology plus it would also be beneficial to the environment. You may also try using VoIP which would save you at least 60% of your original spending for telecommunications. Since small businesses rely heavily on the internet, you can also try looking for cheaper web hosting companies. You need to remember that the content of your site is still the most important. You could optimize the site using SEO so you do not really need to spend a fortune on web hosting. There are several web spaces that are free and yours for the taking.

For marketing concerns, you might want to try taking advantage of social networking influence. What you just need is the time to update your blogs, announcements, tweets and even status messages to let your network know that you are in business. You also would need to realize the power of the spoken word of your customers. They are your best advertisers and it is your responsibility to keep them hooked to your products and services. With regard to your finances, you need to study which would be more cost-effective and timely to you. You may want to preside over the administrative responsibilities with payroll, human resources and benefits but if it would take too much of your time and money, you can consider outsourcing it to other companies and just focus on the day-to-day operation of your business instead. If your business requires for you and your employees to travel, you might also want to consider using coupons to get discounted fares and cheaper hotel rates.

The goal is for you to reduce your expenses by getting rid of the unnecessary cash outflow. Being frugal is not being cheap. Rather, it would give you more opportunity to invest the money you can save for other areas in your business like in additional benefits for your employees, who are the lifeblood of your company.

As small business owners, we wear many different hats.  Among which, hiring the right people, and helping them achieve their highest potential, are two of your most important responsibilities.  But which one is MORE important?

This is an oft-debated topic - at big companies and small - about whether it’s more important to:

A.      Hire the best people, or

B.      Get the most from your people

Many large companies spend a lot of time and energy teaching their managers about choice (B) - getting the most from their direct employees - while devoting surprisingly little attention to the recruitment of “A Players.”

Why is that?  Perhaps it stems from the difficulty of dealing with under-performers in large organizations - no matter how bad someone is at their job, it can be very difficult to fire them “only” for general incompetency.  And if someone is merely average, but they show up for work every day, and perhaps even display an amiable attitude - then they’re probably cemented into their comfy cog of mediocrity.

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Many business owners are now relying heavily on social media to help market their products and services. You may already have a business account with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You may also see that with these sites, your sales went up higher than you expected. But you should not stop there. People regularly think of ways to let them connect with others who share the same interests and you have to be updated so that your business can thrive.

The latest addition to social networking media, which can help promote small businesses, is the Foursquare iPhone app. It is a well-known belief that the best marketing strategy is by word of mouth and Foursquare has it down pat. Most local businesses have difficulty in increasing their customer base and the reason for this is because of little visibility. Most consumers just do not know that a certain company exists. Unlike big companies who can pay for TV ads and other advertising mediums, small businesses have to contend with how their regular customers tell their friends that they actually exist.

As a business owner, you have to realize the importance of good reviews from your regular customers before you can even hope to generate more. With the Foursquare application, your regular customers would just need to write reviews and recommend your products and services to their friends using mobile phones. In earlier years, when your customers are happy doing business with you, they would only be able to tell a handful of their friends, just those that they often come into contact with. Because of the proliferation of social networking, those same customers are given the chance to promote your business to a wider network.

The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you are actually on Foursquare. If the location of your business is relatively good, there’s no reason why people would not be able to start checking in on you. After which, you will have to look for tips on Foursquare on how you can be a better choice for customers. You can set up a small promotion, give better deals than your competitors by giving out discounts and such to your customers. You can also give special discounts to the mayor of your business. In Foursquare, the mayor is a person who frequents your business. This is a great way to tell other people that they can be given perks if they are regular patrons of your products and services. Aside from that, it would also let the people know that you are taking good care of your regulars which can boost their trust in you. You have to build customer loyalty and the growth of your enterprise will follow.

The main thing that you need to build on is your reputation to your existing customers. You have to think of ways for your customers to be more invested in your business. There are a lot of networking sites and applications which can offer free advertising for your business but the real asset here is your customers. If they feel that you and your business are not worth mentioning, your efforts at widening your customer base would be put to waste.

Technology companies are, unfortunately, almost as well known for having poor customer service as they are for their actual products.  Why is that?

Small business expert Anita Campbell cited poor customer service for web apps as one of three key issues that needs to be overcome before cloud apps can become ubiquitous in small businesses.  Shame on us web software companies for allowing an easy-to-fix item like this onto the list!

This truth stings quite sharply, for a couple of reasons:

1.      It’s true

2.      Most cloud app companies are small companies (not large ones)

Crappy customer service is almost expected from large companies - in software, and beyond.  But it should NOT be an acceptable business practice for us smaller software companies.  The future of the software industry is in the cloud - and in the many innovative small companies that are producing productivity enhancing web apps for small business.  So we need to get the customer service issue figured out - and soon!

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The Small Business Administration (SBA) should be commended for their help in sustaining the small business sector with their microloans. However, a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows that the funds which should be distributed to businesses that need it, actually go to ineligible ones. The HUBZone certification which businesses need to qualify for a loan is a program which spans 13 years and is meant to help small business owners build companies in economically distressed areas. When investigators submitted applications which should be denied or disapproved because of obvious reasons; those applications got the federal contracts instead.

Needless to say, there is a huge negative impact to the small business community. The contracts which should have been granted to valid companies, those that really exist and in dire need of financial support, go instead to bogus companies leaving the former with little or worse, nothing to go by. The SBA gives assurance that these fraudulent companies would be penalized but the question is, would the valid businesses be able to wait until all the fraudulent activities are sorted out?

Fraudulent applications with the SBA are not the only problems small businesses face, there’s also the matter of firms who claim that they will be able to help in applying for funds in the program. In this case, there are private companies who victimize small businesses by saying that they will be able to guarantee SBA funding for a high price and there are also those who claim that if the small business owner would not be eligible for the funding if they are not going to use the firm’s services.

While steps are being taken to ensure that small businesses are covered against these scams, the time it takes for it to be sorted can prove to be too much. Think about it: small business asks funding from the SBA but instead of directly applying for it, they are tempted on “guarantees” from private firms. These firms ask for a higher price to get the ball rolling for the application. While these valid small businesses wait for the private firms to process their applications, bogus companies being applied directly with the SBA get the funding instead.

The SBA does not give out federal contracts on a whim. However, since the federal contracts can be given to counterfeit companies and with the proliferation of firms attempting to “guarantee” funding, the survival of small businesses are slim. It is imperative for businesses to constantly update their offering in the market. And in these hard times, the banks are being conservative in giving out loans and mortgages since the risk is too high especially for start ups. The one thing that keeps the hope up for small businesses is the microloans which are distributed through the SBA funding.

In order to sustain growth, funding is important. Without the banks’ help and with the constant clandestine activities surrounding the SBA, small businesses would not be able to survive for long. If the business would not get the upgrades it needs because of problems with funding, it would not be long before the unemployment rate would continue to rise, causing a sinister domino effect to the market as a whole.

Bank of America (BOA), one of the world’s largest financial institutions, has announced it will provide $10 million in grants to nonprofit lenders, such as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), to leverage funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for lending to small and rural businesses.

The grants to nonprofits will help up to 8,000 businesses obtain new loans over the next 12 Months.

The CDFI’s will use the grant money as loan loss reserves, which BOA hopes will unlock millions in low-cost capital for small business microloans program nationwide.

SBA and USDA microloans are made through local nonprofit lenders, which also provide business training and technical assistance. To access the capital, nonprofit lenders participating in these federal loan programs must set aside loan loss reserves at levels of up to 15 percent of the capital provided by the agencies. However, due to the economic recession, most of these lenders have been unable to meet the reserve requirements, limiting their access to loan capital at a time when small businesses most need this support.

Bank of America’s new microloan reserve grants were created specifically to help CDFIs and other nonprofit lenders meet the required reserve levels, and thereby access millions of dollars in new low-cost capital.

While these grants are sorely needed, it’s important to note that these funds are completely tax deductible to BOA.

The average SBA microloan size is $13,000 per business. Through these programs, CDFIs can borrow for 10 to 20 years at rates less than two percent - twice as long and half the cost of other CDFI lending programs currently available. There are currently more than 175 nonprofit lenders participating in these programs.

Bank of America serves approximately 57 million consumer and small business customers with 5,900 retail banking offices, more than 18,000 ATMs and 29 million active users in online banking.

“Helping strengthen small businesses and new start-up companies stimulates job creation and is critical to our nation’s economic recovery. Bank of America is empowering these entrepreneurs by directing private sector capital to unlock exponentially greater amounts of federal dollars for their businesses,” said David Darnell, president of Global Commercial Banking, Bank of America. “Even the smallest grant enables a CDFI to leverage as much as ten times that amount to lend to small businesses, which helps initiate a ripple effect impacting job growth, spending and overall economic expansion.”

Darnell made the announcement at the National Urban League’s centennial conference in Washington D.C. August 1, 2010.  According to the SBA, the country’s 30 million small and micro-businesses are the chief generator of new jobs, creating two out of every three new jobs across the country.

Bank of America is the nation’s largest investor into CDFIs, with more than $1 billion in loans and investments to 120 CDFIs in 37 states. This work with CDFIs is part of the company’s broad support for small businesses, which includes a pledge to increase lending to small and medium-sized businesses by $5 billion in 2010. In the first half of 2010, Bank of America has provided $45.4 billion to small and medium-sized companies.

Bank of America also made a $10 billion pledge to increase its spending with small, medium-sized and diverse suppliers over the next five years. Other efforts to help small businesses include recent improvements to the bank’s 2 million small business credit card accounts, such as no rate increases on existing balances, and enhancements to the Advisor Alliance^TM retirement plan platform, which serves more than 900,000 people from more than 40,000 businesses.

About The Guest Author: Melinda Emerson, known to many as “SmallBizLady,” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Coach and Social Media Strategist who hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog, Succeed As Your Own Boss. Her bestselling book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months was released in March 2010.

When it comes to online marketing, small businesses are staring at a dilemma. Free online marketing tools like social networks have great potential for reaching new customers, but their actual impact on the bottom line is hard to measure. Meanwhile, established tools like email marketing provide valuable metrics on subscribers, and are more suited for retaining and engaging existing customers than acquiring new ones.

Thankfully, online marketing isn’t a zero-sum game - it’s an aggregate one! Positioning email marketing against social media leaves marketers at a loss because they fail to capitalize on the individual strengths of both these channels. Email marketing gives businesses the ability to build a deeper relationship with customers, while social media helps to reach a broader audience. Used in conjunction, these tools build a virtuous circle where passionate customers advocate their favorite brands to their friends, who in turn become passionate customers themselves. It’s a great way not only to maximize the email marketing spend, but to experience tangible results in a social media marketing campaign.

Build a Passionate Following

Regardless of how savvy your online marketing strategy is, building a perpetual marketing machine begins and ends with providing great customer experiences. As an example, let’s look at In a Pickle, a Waltham, Mass.-based restaurant. It cooks up great, creative breakfast dishes like M&M pancakes and offers an array of sandwiches and paninis for lunch. The counter is always packed, and if there’s ever a wait, the quick service and friendly staff makes sure it’s pleasant and short. But don’t just take my word for it - check out Yelp, where In a Pickle has more than 100 online reviews that average four out of five stars.

In a Pickle offers a great customer experience, which is not only why its Yelp score is so high, but also why a lot of people endorse the business. Beyond inexpensive coffee and tasty food, In a Pickle gives customers something to talk about. And when your customers are out there saying great things about you, you’ve officially built a passionate following.

Fan the Flames with Email

In a Pickle keeps its relationship with customers strong by sending them a weekly email newsletter that includes information on specials, community service activities, and even little things like tips on parking in the neighborhood. The restaurant collects the email addresses on a clipboard at the point of sale, and in the over two and a half years it’s been sending a newsletter, it’s amassed a mailing list of nearly 1,000 customers.

Owner Tim Burke recognizes that email marketing is a great tool to deepen the relationship with customers because it allows business owners like him to extend that great customer service experience outside the storefront. Customers who engage with a business on this level are expressing a certain level of trust by giving you their email address, and in exchange for that trust they’re inviting a more personal interaction. Email marketing is not just an opportunity to share more news but an opportunity to delve into a deeper relationship than before.

Spread the Love with Social Media

Email marketing works extremely well with existing customers because the people who freely give you their email address are the passionate base that wants to hear from you most. And in addition to yearning to hear more about your business, this engaged group is also most likely to talk about you to their friends - be it through word of mouth, forwarding an email newsletter to a friend, spreading the word through online social media sites like Twitter or Facebook, or by checking in on Foursquare.

Archiving email newsletters online and cross-referencing links between the emails and the social media pages gives your customers the necessary tools to spread the word about you even further. This is a powerful concept, because when your customers talk about you and share your content on an online social network, their posts have a solid endorsement built in.

Beyond simply sharing email content, it’s good to connect with customers and let them know where they can find you on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and extend the relationship there. For example, in addition to having a newsletter sign-up sheet by the register, In a Pickle also drops a postcard in every take-out order, telling customers all the places they can find the eatery on the web. This drives customers to Facebook and Twitter, reviews sites like Yelp, and more, ensuring that wherever the customers are, they’re able to connect with In a Pickle there, too.

Getting customers to talk about you on online social media sites turns those customers into advocates for your brand and greatly extends your reach beyond their email inbox. So, when you send an email newsletter, you’re not only talking to your most passionate and valuable customers, but you’re also potentially reaching their friends through the things those most valued customers say about your great service. Then, when those friends ultimately frequent your business and have a similarly great customer experience the hope is that they’ll eventually sign up for your email newsletter too. And when that happens, the virtuous circle is complete, and the perpetual marketing machine is in motion.

About The Guest Author: Eric S. Groves is the Senior Vice President, Global Market Development with Constant Contact since January 2001 and built the sales and business development departments from the ground up, helping propel Constant Contact’s growth to more than 300,000 customers today.

Anyone looking to promote an online business website or blog knows the importance of having a marketing strategy in place.  If you fly by the seat of your pants with no clear planning and no focused strategy, you’ll end up just spinning your wheels.

As anyone who has ever attempted web marketing on their own can tell you, random and occasional online marketing attempts are like throwing feathers in the wind.  You need to have a structured and streamlined plan that is implemented on a consistent basis to see real positive results.

So to get you inspired to develop a clear web marketing plan for your business, I’ve put together a list of 10 small business marketing articles.  Each of these articles touches on tips, tactics and ideas for marketing strategies that you may not have thought of yourself.  Be sure to check them all out, each article offers great information on online marketing.

5 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid When Attracting Customers

How To Increase Your Digital Influence

Your Online Marketing Strategy – Naive or Mature?

Online Marketing: ‘It isn’t rocket science!’

How to Simplify Persuasion With Marketing Ju-Jitsu

The Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, Period!

5 Tips For Great International Search Marketing

8 Ways to Become an Expert at Internet Marketing

5 Mistakes Brick and Mortar SMBs Shouldn’t Make Online

How Competitions Can Build Your Online Business

One of the most important aspects of small business management is the manpower. This is where the business operation and the business success relies. If the manpower is weak, it is not possible to achieve the goals and plans of the company. Entrepreneurs are already aware that in order for their business to succeed, they must select and hire the right people.

But most often than not, employees are raw in terms of the knowledge regarding your business. That is why staff training should be implemented so that your employees will get the chance to update their skills and learn more about your business. Through this, they can be able to determine what areas of their skill must be customized in order to fit to the requirements of your company. However, some companies resist employee training.

The opportunity to create a well-trained team of employees must not be compromised. It is extremely important and highly recommended for a company to have a skilled workforce. And this can only be achieved through organizing an extensive training program for your employees. They must be trained on topics such as product knowledge because this will give your employees the confidence to establish relationships with your customers.

Employee training programs could be an expensive activity for your small business, but this shouldn’t be regarded as additional costs. Although we can’t deny the fact that entrepreneurs will shell out some money for staff training, this is still a wise investment for the company. A long-term investment in that case. This will ensure that you have a well trained staff with quality and professional work output. Employees with developed professional skills are more innovative and productive when it comes to work. It’s necessary that companies ensure that employees are fulfilled and satisfied with what they are doing.

There are alternative employee training programs available for small business management training. These programs may not only contribute to the advancement of the career of the employees but also motivate staff to strengthen the work force of the company. And of course, this would be very beneficial to the company.

As a manager of a small business, you should encourage career enhancement. Develop an environment where learning is the primary objective and career development is a priority. Show that you care about everyone’s development by investing in staff training. If you support the development of your employees’ skills, your staff in return will become more productive and useful to your business. If you have strong and well trained employees, your business will have the opportunity to become successful. Always remember that an environment where there is learning is very creative and productive. Business success relies on how well your employees are doing their job. If you give them the opportunity to enhance their skills with staff training, your business will have a better chance to grow.