Get Your Business in the News.

Do you invest in public relations for your business?  Doing so doesn’t have to be expensive.  In fact, if you want to approach your local market, the only necessary cost involved is your time and a little brain power.  Local newspapers, magazines and e-zines are always interested in something new and different to report on.  If you can get a little creative, you can get your business in the news, generating free publicity.  Free is good, don’t you think?

Creative and Catchy

Do you have a new product launching, or a new way to use an existing product?  Brainstorm, if necessary, and come up with something unique and story worthy.  Create a theme that applies to the benefit of your product or service.

Promotional Times printed a story in their newsletter recently that cited a company that was offering a new water-saving washing machine.  To promote it, they developed the tagline, “How thirsty is your washer“, and issued press releases based on the new theme.  It attracted sales.

If you’re working from home, you probably don’t sell appliances, but you get the idea.  Put a creative spin on the major selling feature of your product.  If possible, come up with your own winning slogan to accompany it.

Current Trends

Don’t forget to consider trends while you’re contemplating your approach.  If you can make your campaign tie in naturally with what’s hot in the market, then cash in on it.  When anti-aging is big in the news, play up your line of mail order anti-oxidants using the anti-aging benefits as your prime selling feature.  Your online dollar store might be the perfect for a story on savings and convenience during recessionary and stress-filled times.  See where I’m going with this?  Find the appropriate need and fill it.  The nice thing about trends is that they present an immediate market, if you get in on them early.

How to Get in Print

Once you have your great and interesting product all ready for the public, you can proceed with contacting publication editors, reporters or issue your own print announcements.

-          Call or email your local newspaper or reporter, giving them a brief overview of what new and wonderful thing you’re offering, and invite them for an interview

-          Issue your own press releases.  You can do this online as well.  There are places to submit that are free, as well as ones that you pay for.

-          Hold an event and invite the local press.  The event could be an open house, ribbon cutting, seminar on your product, Christmas party, doesn’t matter.  What matters is the press exposure that you’ll get.  I would caution you though, to make the event interesting enough that it actually gets written up in the paper.

-          If your local newspaper has a Business Monday (or whatever) section, or your city has its own business magazine, then let them know about your wonderful new product/use.

-          Offer a press release, interview or article to any appropriate website owners.  If they deal with local issues or markets, then odds are they are going to be interested.

The best part about using creativity as your number one marketing tool is that it is limitless.  You can take one product and come up with numerous different slants on how to use or promote it.  This is the stuff that makes marketing fun.  So, go ahead and get your business in the news.  You’ll enjoy yourself and get some free publicity to boot.

This post is courtesy of Shirley Anderson.

Keeping Your Personal Life Personal.

We’ve all been there, sitting in our cubicle at work, diligently typing away when all of a sudden a loud, booming voice starts telling a story to the person in the next cubicle. You get to hear every word they say, and unfortunately, your concentration along with your attitude goes out the door. Co-workers don’t pay attention to the fact that it’s easy to rub each other the wrong way, even when you’re sitting at your desk minding your own business.

When you do get angry or lose your concentration on the job, the very best strategy is to become less angry. If you can fix it so that it takes more to trigger your anger reflex, do so. You will be freer to act decisively and constructively when you are treated badly at work. You will also be less affected by any petty annoyances.

With that in mind, here are some strategies that can help you become less annoyed on the job. Try some of these the next time someone or something really bugs at work.

1: Staying calm means you don’t do something you regret later
Sometimes when you get really mad, you may end up doing something rash. If you can stay calm, you’re more likely to choose constructive actions.

2: Getting mad often means staying mad
If you get annoyed here and now, that bad mood may last for a long, long time.

3: When you stay calm, you really annoy those who want to annoy others
If that person is truly out to annoy you; the very best way to annoy them back is to stay cool. Deny them the satisfaction of getting you riled. They hate that.

4: Getting annoyed makes it easier to get mad the next time
You start a cycle of anger - which means it takes less and less to set you off.

5: Getting annoyed makes the memory stronger
Anything you experience while having a strong emotion, will be etched permanently in your mind. The problem is that the memory becomes so strong that it keeps coming back to you and keeps annoying you for years.

6: Sometimes you’re at fault and blowing up just makes it worse
Sometimes it turns out, that the whole thing is actually your own fault. If you previously blew up at someone, then you look really silly…

7: It’s not about you
Most jerks you will meet are not really out to get you, personally - this is how they treat everyone.

8: It may not be intentional at all
Maybe they have absolutely no idea that they’re annoying you.

9: Losing your temper makes you look bad
Even if you’re in the right in the situation, if you lose your temper you can end up looking silly, petty or unreasonable.

10: Laugh about it
Most workplace jerk behavior is annoying sure, but when you really look at it, it’s mostly pathetic and ridiculous. Laugh at it, rather than get annoyed.

11: Maybe it’s an honest mistake
And most of all: People make mistakes. Don’t read too much into it when people do inconsiderate things. It may simply be an honest mistake.

I’m not saying that you should put up with behavior that annoys you. This is not about being meek and humble and never complaining about the mistakes that others make. This is about not getting angry over annoying people, because getting angry is rarely good for anyone and never has a good outcome.

As Aristotle said - it’s not about getting angry, it’s about getting angry in the right way. And in most situations, keeping your cool is better for you, and produces better results.

This is a guest post by by one of featured writers, Michelle Noe.

Considerate Employees Equal Positive Workplaces.

How many times have people complained about other people at work? Too many. Consideration in the workplace is lost among the preoccupied, overworked individuals who have learned to look out for number one above all else.

The modern day and age has rushed us so that we overlook the troubles of others and brush it off as less important than our own. As a people, we no longer feel the compassion that once gave our workplaces quality service and products. Money has become the almighty goal.

This lack of consideration is what has brought us to psychiatrists, medications for stress relief, and a boom in health stores. We have become individuals who have to be encouraged and taught to work as teams. However, team in this case has a loose meaning. A team can still get the job done with or without consideration for others.

Where does this lead us, though? It leads us to a tension-filled atmosphere. Would we like to be happier employees? If so, then we must begin with ourselves. We must consider how we act, how we treat other people, and the vibes we give off. Sometimes this even means taking the blame for something that someone else has done simply to ease the burden.

Does this sound ludicrous? Not if we truly think about it. Consideration begins with compassion. We must begin to harbor kindness in our hearts. Nurture it and watch it grow. One day we will wake up to find that a change has overtaken us. Human nature is to think of survival of the fittest. But having consideration for others is one of the main ingredients of fitness for fitness involves mind and spirit as well as body.

Success does not necessarily mean a high position with the largest salary of the company. Success is nothing without heart. To have heart is to be considerate. A company with heart is a company with success. A company with heart rewards its employees and its customers or clients. The public acknowledges this positive action and is drawn to it like a magnet. People want positive in all areas of their lives. What is overlooked is that positive begins within oneself. We must give better to get better. The old saying, “What goes around, comes around,” still rings true.

People need hope. Consideration breeds hope. The workplace will become softer, yet stronger. Bonds will forge that will reach out to touch those who visit the workplace as well as those who work in it. To see the change when someone who is angry is received with kindness is amazing. It may happen slowly and may not appear to happen at all at first. But then one day the person will come back across our path and will recall us with a positive memory and a light will shine.

Bitterness and resentment have become too commonplace in our society as a whole. What goes on behind the scenes in a workplace if often discouraging and sometimes appalling. It’s not too late to change that. We must start now with ourselves.

Yet another great contribution by Shawnee Bowlin.

No Bid Freelance Writing Jobs.

If you’ve been writing online for awhile, you are no doubt familiar with the freelance bidding sites. Someone posts a project that they need done, and then writers place bids on how much they’re willing to do the job for. The ads are run through a site that acts as the middle man and the client may never know the writer’s real name or contact information.

I don’t use those sites, but I’ve heard that sometimes the project owner (client) backs out. Personally, I prefer to advertise for work and have it come through my website or word of mouth advertising. During quiet times though, I like to see who’s looking for writers on the No Bid Freelance Writing Jobs websites. I find the listings diverse and often higher paying than the bid sites.

I’m not going to knock the bid sites. To each his own. Some people like them, and if they fulfill your needs, that’s great. If they are your only source of work however, I would urge you to check out some of the other resources that are available. If nothing else, you won’t have all your eggs in one basket.

There are a ton of websites catering to writers wanting no bid, regular listings. Many use the same feeds, so there is some redundancy, but honestly, if you take the trouble to check the listings regularly, you will find writing jobs. If you’re thinking about becoming an employee, some of the sites have ads for temporary, part-time and full-time writers, as well.

If all of this sounds like a regular job hunt, well that’s because it is. Writing gigs seldom fall into a freelancer’s lap before they’ve earned a good reputation in the business. Getting regular work takes some effort, but it’s worth it if you want to build up a clientele that calls you when they need a writer. It takes a bit of time, but it’s not that hard. Put some energy into searching for No Bid Freelance Writing Jobs so that clients know your name and where to find you and get paid more in many instances. These are pretty good payoffs for putting a bit of effort into your freelance career.

To read more and access writing job links, visit my writing hubs.

This contribution is courtesy of Shirley Anderson, a featured writer on our network of career and small busines portals.

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