ShawnHessinger commented on the following stories on BizSugar
Does Giving Away Free Stuff Destroy Your Product's Value?
"Hi David, Seth seems to be talking about the backlash against freemium and free products and services here. That backlash, however, will never be complete, just as the organic food industry never eliminated McDonald's. However, I think there's also a subtext in this post. It's critically important to understand that all attention isn't the same, that if you really use any means necessary to draw interest to your product or service, there's no way of knowing the right group of people will show up. "10 Must-Read Blogs on Financial Management
"Great list, though I'd argue Seth Godin's is more of a marketing blog. In any case, I'd say studying more financial management is something many entrepreneurs could stand to balance out the creative ideation and give your business model a bit more grounding. "1 Million Page Views Later, How I Am Blogging Different
"Adam, Thanks for sharing Dave's post. Would you agree that creating a quantifiable list of enthusiastic followers is a benefit in any business, not just blogging? What are some recommendations you'd make about collecting contact data from your fans and community?"How to start a successful global business without investors [podcast]
"Hi Martin, What a fascinating topic (and humorous product!) I love hearing about bootstrapping on products that are not digital. Here's a product that had to be mass produced and physically sold. Yet, there was no big budget, no investors and the principles of the business are still debt free!"How to Deliver Effective Customer Service
"Hi Arshad, I don't know if it's possible to put things more clearly. We hear about these principles often but I think looking at the statistics is a wake up call. This isn't opinion about what makes good customer service alone. There are some fairly compelling numbers to back it up."Does Google Know What's Authoritative To A Human?
"Hi Tom, After reading the post, and the comments thus far, I'd have to say that, while I think Google could certainly use more competition in the search engine field, I'm not sure results are really worse or less relevant than they use to be. However, maybe this has to do with what you're looking for. And maybe what I'm really suggesting is that content at the top of searches seems more authoritative and less spammy. I think the great balance for Google actually has to do with the attempt to get content that is both authoritative and up-to-date. An increasing focus on news and the latest posts may be hurting both users and content producers. It's sometimes harder to find the best content if it doesn't also happen to be the latest. I'm curious. In what way do you feel content from searches has become less relevant? "Does Google Know What's Authoritative To A Human?
"Hi Tom, Thanks for the clarification. I think I'd agree in the sense that, if you were to track, say, tech news on an aggregator like TechMeme, for example, you would certainly be missing plenty of breaking news on Google. (And much of that is coming from admittedly smaller websites.) Or at least you might be missing that news unless or until it is picked up by a larger, more established website. That said, there was a time not so very long ago (definitely in my memory) when Google was routinely serving up scraped content who's only possible advantages over the original might have been that it was published more recently and keyworded both on page and off more aggressively/shamelessly. Such results are generally not admitted with Google's new tweaks, or at least are not being shown in search results as high up as they once were. I can understand the frustration on the part of Web publishers trying to get their content found. But from a user's perspective, I think we must all understand that, for their purposes, the results probably seem more helpful and relevant than what they once had. "5 fail-safe tips to improve your chances of getting a small business loan
"Hi Tom, I think one thing many of us have heard when exploring financing for a business is that, for loans, some kind of collateral will be needed. Essentially lenders, at least to me and others I know, have always explained that funding of this kind is dependent upon you having some tangible asset you can use as a guarantee. Are there exceptions to this basic fundamental principle? And, if not, why aren't more discussions on business finance prefaced by mentioning this basic fact? It would be helpful for entrepreneurs starting with little or no potential assets to know from the beginning that they will most likely need to seek another source of funds. "How to create your online marketing strategy: the list
"Hi Veronica, This is a great list (even if it is a bit bare bones.) I'm wondering if you could put some meat on these bones. For example, when we say "define your target audience," is this the audience we want, or, in the case of a brand that already has a following, who we believe that audience to be? How do we make sure we aren't deceiving ourselves about the people who would truly be interested in our brand, business or product? When we say "define your message," how? Can you suggest some steps or a best way to go about this? It can be deceptively complicated. What are your recommendations for defining an effective marketing message that says exactly what you want it to say? "Find your channels." What's the best way to decide what channels are best for our business or brand? Should we use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, all of the above? Or are there some of these channels where we might just be wasting our time? I think it would be great if you could fill in some of the details here for the rest of the BizSugar community. Thanks!"Subscribe
“It is interesting how LinkedIn is following along and integrating...”
“Adam: I hear you! ;) Talk soon again! :)
All the Best,
Martin...”
“Janice: I wonder if the hashtag #teapartymedia could become a branded...”
“Thanks Martin! This isn’t the usual tone I go for in terms of headlines...”
“Adam: Attention grabbing subject line! ;) I hope I will get a bit smarter,...”
What's New About Twitter Profiles and How to Use Them For Branding
"Martin, Sorry, just saw this comment. Yes, I think that's the way to go and I'd add a similar strategy is probably best on other channels like Google Plus and Facebook too. I think it's possible to quickly get lost maintaining too many things if you happen to be running several businesses at once."