Atlanta Logo & web banner designsAtlanta logo design for the Style Bar Salon for the Style Bar Salon

Atlanta logo design for the Style Bar Salon

Atlanta web ad design for the Style Bar Salon

Atlanta blogger banner design for the Style Bar Salon

New Blogger App For iPhone & Android phones. Blog on the Go!

Blogger app for iPhone & Android phones.

With the new blogger phone app, there is no excuse not to blog! 
I had to write this one for some of my clients who prefer to do everything from their phones. I know sometimes time does not permit most of us to sit at our computers to share what's on our mind right on the spot. That's the beauty of technology, GOT TO LOVE IT!

They have an app for both iPhone and Android phones. Click here to get your app now! Enjoy!

10 Tips to Help Your Business Look more Professional & Grow Quickly!

These are my top 10 suggestions that I feel has helped my business grow over the past year. I truly advise finding a way to fit these in your schedule and make it a priority to help your business grow in 2012.

CHECK LIST TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW IN 2012!

Get a decent website for potential clients to view your services & portfolio.

First impressions are everything, so I advise getting this set in place! If you can't afford one, get a nice clean blog to get your business online until you can. You'll be surprised how many times I've heard people state that they would base their decision for going with a company based off their website appearance. To get money, sometimes you've got to spend it!

Get your business it's own social media. 

Yes, this includes a blog, facebook fan page and a twitter account solely for your business. This also means you'll have to use it and keep it updated with fresh material, otherwise it appears that you aren't doing anything. Not good for your business image. People are quick to research you online before considering contacting you.

Send out at least 12 email newsletters for the entire year to your current email list.

That is 1 email newsletter per month. This is just for starters and to remind people that your business still exist. No more then 20 per year, people will start to get annoyed. You can send out tips and specials your company is offering. There are many options out there to send out email newsletters such as Constant Contact, Mad Mimi and Mailchimp, just to name a few.

Get Business cards designed and keep them on you at all times!

I cannot stress this enough! I've gone to places where I would not expect people to ask for my business card. Places like the grocery store, dominoes pizza, the cafe to do a little work or just going over to a friend's or family member's home and their neighbors or friends needing your service. CARRY THEM AT ALL TIMES!

Get a number for your business and have a professional voicemail.

This all depends on your type of business if you need to purchase a number, but I always recommend a professional voicemail. I've provided a link for script to use to create your voicemail. There are a few places like Ringcentral that will provide you with a number to use for your business that will forward to your cell phone and let you know where the incoming call is coming from. This is great for online stores that need 1-800 numbers, but they also provide phone numbers in your area code as well.

Offer specials throughout the year to help get repeat business and new clients.

I would recommend a new year special to get your business kicked off and post it on all your social media. Consider creating a flyer to post on your blog, send out in an email newsletter, use as your facebook profile image to attract more clients and post the image on twitter. I also recommend announcing your special at least 3 times a day on twitter. If you understand how twitter functions, you'll realize how many times tweets are posted and yours may be over looked. So additional post are a must! 

Ask your clients to like and post a good review on your Facebook fan page.

I've recently started doing this. I started asking clients to post their review of my service on my fan page. I'm one of those people that look for reviews on a company or product, so I know I'm not the only one. Remember to make it easy for them and provide the link for them to post. What I've noticed is they've started to post the reviews on their page. THAT'S EVEN BETTER BECAUSE THEIR LIST OF FRIENDS CAN VIEW IT! 

Use youtube to your advantage, IT REALLY WORKS!

About 3 months ago, I made 9 videos of my portfolio, categorized them and uploaded it to youtube. This week all my efforts finally paid off. I had a client who contacted me solely based off viewing my youtube videos I created. It took 2 days to create them all and 3 months to get a call, but it was totally worth it! The useful thing with youtube is you can post those same videos in your email newsletters; post on facebook, twitter and blogger; and embed in your website.

See what services your competitors are offering and add it to your list.

I usually recommend looking at a company in your market that is doing it big and mimic them. No point in reinventing the wheel. If what they are doing is working, you should try adding that service to your list. Clearly, you can make it your own and customize your service to make it stand out. In order for your business to grow, your service options also needs to.

Work on your customer service skills!

Now this might sound old but it will always stand true! People always remember how you treat them when it comes to business. No one owes you their business, so it is your responsibility to build a good business relationship with your clients. This will make people recommend you to their friends and colleagues. 

Proper customer service tips:

• Respond on time to emails and voicemails.
• Listen to your client's needs and work in a timely fashion to answer request. People just want to know you're listening and that you care about their business.
• Answer the phone professionally at all times or business friendly with repeat clients.
• Treat people how you want to be treated in business. The same service you expect from other businesses, you should be willing to give yourself.

I hope this information is found useful and used. Enjoy!

Sign up for Atlanta Classes to help get your online business image & social media on the right track.

SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIMIZATION:
This is a class for business owners to learn the organic way to properly setup your social media to help your business gain visibility online, along with other free online sources to list your business.. Organic means you're not paying per click for adwords. Having a website is not enough to help your business get found out of the millions that already exist. Learn how to create and maintain it yourself! If you don't own a website for your business, THIS IS A MUST! If you do own a website, THIS IS A NECESSITY! GET YOUR BUSINESS ON THE RIGHT TRACK FOR 2012!

We have a upcoming class in January. Make sure to sign up by purchasing a ticket or if you have any questions, email us at signup@prospectimages.com. Please bring all the necessary image files (logos, business location images, portfolio & etc.) to EVERY class along with a laptop. This will be your chance to ask questions pertaining to your social media and online business image. Please note: NO CELL PHONE IMAGES.

Atlanta Classes to help get your business image & social media on the right track.

Space is based off limited seating! Make sure to check out our Early Bird Special while supplies last! We will be providing refreshments at each session.

Location:
Trinity Studios
980 Main Street
Stone Mountain, Ga 30083
Historic Downtown Stone Mountain
Parking in the main square and directly across from building next to the Health Nut.


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1st Class Curriculum:
How to design a professional blog for your business & the importance of a blog.
Did you know that blogs are search engine friendly (ex. Google), making it easier for your business to be located online? Come learn and leave with a custom professional blog for your business. This class includes: setting up your domain name (additional cost of $13 for a www.yourdomain.com address), setting up your business email, 1 custom banner design (additional cost), 1 business blog theme, creating your blog, adding social media widgets (must already have facebook & twitter setup), how to schedule post to save you time, optimizing your blog, free online image business advice, connecting blogger to your social media to make life easy and creating your 1st business post/article. Hands on class with personal assistance.

Length of Class: 3 hrs.
Saturday,  02/04/2012
12am-3pm

Early Bird Special!
Blog Tutorial Only Special: $65
(Limited to the 1st 5)
Blog with Custom Banner Design: $125
(Limited to the 1st 5)

Blog Tutorial Only: $85
Blog with Custom Banner Design: $145

2nd Class Curriculum:
Social Media Optimization & Setting up of 6 Social Media Accounts.
Create and optimize 6 Social Media Accounts for your business. Learn the best practices to help your business get found on the net, how to market and gain more following/potential clients. We'll discuss branding your business image and more, relating to your social media. Hands on class with personal assistance. No graphic design included in price.

Length of Class: 3 hrs.
Saturday,  02/18/2012
11am-2am

Early Bird Special!
SMO Tutorial: $40
(Limited to the 1st 10)

SMO Tutorial: $60

3rd Class Curriculum:
Learn to design a business Youtube Video & optimize it to get online exposure. 
Includes 2 photo account setup, creation of 1 video and a tutorial on how to optimize images. Hands on class with personal assistance. Must have images to use for this class. (No cell phone images. Digital Camera only! No video necessary.) No graphic design included in price.

Length of Class: 3 hrs.
Saturday,  03/03/2012

Early Bird Special!

Video/Image Tutorial: $30

(Limited to the 1st 10)

Video/Image Tutorial: $50

PURCHASE OUR 3-IN-1 PACKAGE FOR $180

Includes:

Blog with Custom Banner Design: $110 

Video/Image Tutorial: $40

SMO Tutorial: $30

We also offer one-on-one tutorials at an hourly rate or you can hire us to create your social media for your business. This includes custom graphics for your social media accounts starting at $500. (Social Media include: youtube, Facebook, twitter & blogger.) Call 678-886-7081 or Email us for more information at info@prospectimages.com.

Visit us online at:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

BLOGGER

 Visit us online at Prospectimages.com

Why a website isn't enough to get your business online exposure? Read Why.

Having a website isn't enough for people to find you, considering the mass amounts of businesses related to your market that are present online. Creating social media that aligns with your business image is very important. Social media are like friends to your website. Without friends, no one would be able to share the great work you do. Also, you need as many exterior links pointing back to your website as possible. Creating social media isn't enough to give your website exposure, there are other things to consider. Things like social media optimization to help your social media get found on the net.

The major part is you actually using the social media that is created and filling it with pertinent information that your potential clients or viewers will find useful. The information should pertain to what you do, whether it's showcasing your portfolio or filling it helpful tips related to your business. Using catchy titles will also attract readers along with images. In general, this is a part of SEO (search engine optimization) that will help your website get found on the world wide web in an organic manner. I typically recommend taking one day out of your week to schedule time to blog, facebook or tweet about your business.

If you own a website but are having issues with getting visibility to your site, maybe it's time you consider getting your site some friends and actually use them. :)

Feel free to contact us in regards to getting started with your business social media and to receive more information about our SEO PACKAGE.

Why a website isn't enough to give your business online exposure?

Learn how to schedule your post with the new blogger interface.

I was a little iffy on changing over to the new blogger version only because I was more familiar with the older one. Well, come to find out I really love the new version. The newer version allows you to check your stats to see which post are getting viewed, how many times your pages are viewed, view new blog articles posted by the blogs you are following, view source of what is leading traffic to your post, adding labels/keywords to your post to help them get found and my favorite, scheduling my post so I don't have to be on blogger everyday.

I've provided a few screen shots to show how to schedule your blog post.

Click the pencil icon on the top left hand corner next to the blogger logo to create a new post. Below you will see the text "Scheduled" next to the first 2 post I created. This is how your post should appear after you've created your scheduled post.

 To the right hand side of the screen you will see "Post Settings". Click on "Post Settings" if the area below are not visible; labels, schedule, location and options.

How to schedule your post on the new blogger interface?

Select when you want the post to be visible by clicking on the date, typing in the time and clicking done. When you're finished with typing your post, click publish and you're done. That's it!

How to schedule your post on the new blogger interface?

 Visit us online at Prospectimages.com