Friday, August 14, 2009

Google Docs for Business Partnerships

With forums... groups...boards etc. alot of "like minded" people meet. The internet has made us all "neighbors".

Having a web biz all by yourself can be really hectic so many people have partnered up & split the duties along with the profits.

Along with my personal bizes... I have a biz partner for a bunch of others. Now... we just live across town, however biz partners can live on different ends of the country with all the tools available.

Phones... IMs ... emails are just a few but a REALLY GREAT tool to communicate with a biz partner is Google Docs.

We use this for lists of sites... twitters...squidoo lenses ... blogs.... since I take care of the "social part"... I set up the list with all the logins (just in case I am "abducted by aliens")... and my biz partner has access to all that info.

Another Doc spreadsheet keeps track of orders that I have to get made & shipped. For our earrings...my biz partner takes care of emails & orders.... puts them on the spreadsheet. Then I go to the spreadsheet... make the earrings, do the shipping & highlight & date the ones that are out the door.

We set up an LLC & all paypal & bank accounts are in our biz name so we both have access to everything. If you do ever get together in a partnership... make sure everything is in writing & everything is available to both partners. Have "duties" separated in writing & never "assume".

So with all the great tools out there, partnerships can be a great way to set up bizes!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Trick to linking your site in forums and message boards

You work so hard finding forums and message boards that match your interests & will target your potential customers. Let those posts, not only answer questions but also promote your site, blog, store or squidoo lens.

Most forums either don't allow posting your web address or have only 1 thread for you to post your site. HOWEVER... most allow a hyperlink (they have the "url" in the design bar when you post) Hyperlinks are picked up by Google, Yahoo & the rest of the search engines. This is the REAL reason you want to try to hyperlink as much as possible.

Here is an example:

Say you are on a "moms" forum & I sell Candy bar wrappers for parties.

Someone comments on getting their 5 yr old's birthday party ready....

Say this forum does not allow websites... so I can't say "see some party favors at www.candybarwrap.com

What I might say is.... I bought some cute personalized favors & they were the hit of the party!

Hyperlink a KEYWORD in your post.

" My Sister just had a baby"...

My reply may be.... "I saw these ADORABLE Custom watches that you can put a picture on... great Holiday gift.. I bought my mom one with the grandkid's pics on it"

"What did you do today" thread

DON'T say " I blogged new recipes & added products to my video store

DO SAY " I blogged new recipes & added products to my video store"

Search engines are seeing keywords & the fact that they are linked to your site.
For message boards that don't have the hyperlink ability... then you just have to rely on a signature.
So just be sure to follow rules on different forums but I have not had any problems so far.


Happy posting all!