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 Hello Kolb Net Works Clients and Friends,
Where did your Summer go?
I got to spend a lot of time with my
Mother along the river in the Watsontown area, which was nice. Then,
Tropical Storm Ivan brought along too much rain with it and flooded the road,
trailer pads and cabin. Ugh.
I regret to report I had to shop for a new laptop.
Our IBM ThinkPad laptop computer took a fall a couple of
weeks ago. Compu-Gen reported it was now "toast". So, I went on a search for
a replacement laptop. I was amazed at how many choices there are now. Our
first laptop was a Mac PowerBook 5300cs back in 1997. It was slow and
awkward on the Internet. It was OK for presentations and mobile email usage.
The IBM ThinkPad was a real zippy machine that was great for presentations
but was a bit heavy at 8 lbs.
After much consideration I settled on a
Toshiba Tecra
M2 which uses the Intel Centrino line of CPU, chipset and built-in
wireless. Initial results are very good. We especially like the under 5 lbs
weight of the new unit. I'm delighted with the lighter, more zippy system
and highly recommend it.
My current "groovy web site picks":
Link Building Ideas:
1.
Do your vendors have web sites? Ask to exchange hyperlinks.
2. Remember if you spend any money advertising your site
with a traditional media firm (TV, Radio, Newspaper) ask for a link to your
web site from their web site.
3. Ask any associations you pay to belong to (Chambers
of Commerce, for example) to link to your web site.
Search Engine News:
What do people search for on the web? Understanding search habits
can help you write text and choose keywords for your pages. The
search engine Dogpile gives you a peek
at what people are searching for in real time. They offer both a filtered
viewer and an unfiltered viewer.
I
recommend you spend some time watching the filtered viewer.
We're pleased to announce we've upgraded our search engine optimization /
reporting software as soon as the new version became available. This
software allows to really analyze and optimize your web pages for good
search engine placement. The new version allows for tracking of paid and non
paid (organic) search engine results ranking.
Do you yearn for higher
search engine rankings? We can help! See
http://www.kolbnetworks.com/searchengineservices.asp
then call us.
Affiliate Marketing
Here's an example of a tip I gave to the PA. Mid-State Bed & Breakfast
Association last month when I spoke at their meeting. If you buy something that your client uses,
see if you can sign up as a referral affiliate. The Company Store sells
really fine sheets and comforters. If you use their sheets in your B & B,
you should sign up as an affiliate so your customers can buy sheets from the
Company Store from your web site link.
See the Company Store
affiliate page.
Maybe while your guests were here they visited the Woolrich Outlet or
perhaps some of your blankets or home furnishings are from there. Sign up as
an affiliate with Woolrich, then link to their web site from yours. Tell
your guests (give them a card?) that your web site has links to many area
high quality stores.
New Clients / Projects:
 We're
just finishing up a major multimedia project for
Susquehanna Health Systems.
This
recruitment CDROM will be part of their professional health worker recruitment
efforts.
 Union
County Industrial Development Corporation's redesigned web site is now live.
This web site highlights Union County's many admirable economic features
including the Great Stream Commons Industrial Park.
 Northeast
Wood Products new web site went live. Stop in and see what they can do with
wood including millwork.
We are now hosting and consulting for:
KNW News:
The Kolb Net Works office will be closed November 25 and 26 for
Thanksgiving, December 24 for Christmas and December 31 for New Year
holidays.
In July, I gave part II of the "Using New Media in your Small Business
Marketing Efforts" presentation for the Bucknell SBDC.
Carlos gave a presentation for SCORE / Lock Haven SBDC on September 23, 2004
entitled: Ebay Selling.
Brett went back to college at the end of August.
Tom and Heather Lee moved back to the Gettysburg, PA area. Heather gave
birth to their first child in October.
We've moved our Friday times back to the usual. You can now reach us in the
office until 5pm Fridays.
E-commerce Tips:
How can you test your company's ecommerce customer service?
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Send a test question to your customer service email
address listed on your web site and see what response you receive (use a
non-company email address so they won't know it's you).
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Call the customer service phone number listed on
your web site and ask a basic question. See how the voice menu system
sounds and how the staff person answers your question.
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Obviously - if you are the only employee in your
company, the above tips won't work. So, how about trying the same ideas,
but calling / emailing your competition and seeing what their customer
service is like. You may learn something.
Email Newsletter Tips:
OK, I took the Summer off and didn't write a newsletter for several
months. Brad from JanWay made my day when he sent me an email recently
asking if he somehow got off the newsletter list because he hadn't gotten
one for a while!
Tip: It's OK to skip a month or two. Give yourself and
your readers a break, save up good content for the next one.
Question: What are you going to do for Marketing next
year? If you need help with a plan, call us for a marketing review session.
Note: issues of current and past newsletters are online and can
be viewed at:
http://www.kolbnetworks.com/newsletters
As you
start your email newsletter address list, please include my email address so
I can see how you are doing.
We appreciate
your interest and business,
-----
Kathy Kolb
President, Kolb Net Works, Inc. - Powerful Web Solutions
http://www.kolbnetworks.com --- (570) 326-2888
kathy@kolbnetworks.com
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