Guest Bloggers

Create Your Own E-book For Free

January 13, 2013 by Basil Puglisi 1 Comment

You can create your own ebook in OpenOffice writer with this free Kindle template and EPUB generator from OpenOffice.org.

Kindle Template and EPUB Generator Review

These days, if you want to self-publish a book, the easiest and least expensive way to do it is to make it an ebook. You can save a standard OpenOffice Writer document as a PDF, but it won’t be properly formatted for digital readers, like Kindle, Sony Reader, or Nook. With a free Kindle template for OpenOffice Writer, and a free EPUB generator, you can make sure your Writer file is the perfect size and format, so any digital reader can view your ebook or document exactly the way it was meant to be viewed. Use the free Kindle template and EPUB generator with OpenOffice Writer to take lecture notes that you can read on the go, publish your own digital magazine, or distribute an informative pamphlet. Anyone with a digital reader or other mobile device will be able to read your document easily, and without a lot of scrolling.

Kindle Template by RanRutenberg

Download this free Kindle template from OpenOffice.org to create an OpenOffice Writer document that will display perfectly on a Kindle screen. Standard Writer documents are designed to print on an A4 letter sized sheet of paper. A4 pages are too large to be properly displayed on a 6 inch wide Kindle screen. This free Kindle template formats any OpenOffice Writer document to print on an A6 sized sheet of paper, and it includes custom margins that make it the exact size of the Kindle’s screen.

EPUB Generator by Przemyslaw Rumik

PDF files can be viewed on a digital reader, but the best way to save a document for Kindle viewing is to save it in a digital reader format. EPUB files can be viewed on a Nook, Sony Reader, and Apple iOS devices like iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. EPUB files can also be converted to the Kindle MOBI format with a free conversion program or web site. With this free EPUB generator for OpenOffice Writer, you can ensure that your document is compatible with any digital reader or mobile device. Simply download the extension from OpenOffice.org, install it, and click “Publish to EPUB” on any Writer document to start the conversion process. You will need to have installed additional XSLT filters. These can be installed by selecting “XML Filter Settings” from the OpenOffice “Tools” menu. If you want to publish an ebook, digital magazine, or save a document for easy viewing on your digital reader or mobile device, you can do it for free with a Kindle template and EPUB generator from OpenOffice.org. ebooks can be viewed by almost anybody, either online, or on a mobile device with an Internet connection. Download the free Kindle template and EPUB generator from OpenOffice.org, and you can easily turn your OpenOffice Writer document into an ebook perfectly formatted for digital readers like Kindle, Sony Reader, and Nook.

Citations:

Jen Heller Meservey is a freelance writer for Downloadhaus who loves discovering new software and being more productive with freeware apps. Downloadhaus.com brings you the latest free, open source apps with no waiting times or download queues. Connect with Jen Heller Meservey on LinkedIn.

Copyrighting Color: How (And Why) To Do It

January 11, 2013 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Marketing studies suggest that over 80% of visual information is related to colour. Seem unlikely? Try and picture the following in your mind: Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Cadbury and O2. Roughly 90% of you just saw specific shades of red, green, purple and blue. Not a phrase, not an advert, just those colours and maybe a vague logo.
It’s only recently companies have begun to appreciate how vital this aspect of brand management is, and to litigate accordingly: in the past few years Cadbury’s have trademarked their particular shade of purple; T-Mobile have sued a blog for using magenta in their logo; and Orange have laid claim not only to the colour but also the word itself.
For designers it’s a nightmare: with an ever-dwindling colour palette, creating that stand-out design becomes increasingly difficult. But there are plus sides. It’s harder than ever for copycat businesses to leech off your brand, and once you hit upon that perfect combination, the law will protect it as ferociously as your tagline.

Who Can Copyright a Colour?

Short answer: anyone. In the UK, trademarking your logo automatically registers those colours to your brand, and yours alone. There are, however, certain restrictions. Obviously, you need to check if anyone else has a claim on this colour first, and hold back all that design-money until you’re sure.
Secondly, your logo will need to pass the functionality test. This prevents companies from trademarking colours with pre-existing psychological or cultural associations. We associate green with nature, life, ‘organic’ products; therefore you will be unable to pursue a claim on green, unless you are working in a field where that association simply wouldn’t apply (e.g.: telecommunications).
Depending on your industry, defining functionality could get complicated. Louboutin spent a ton of money dragging Yves Saint Laurent through the courts last year, in an attempt to protect their red-soled shoe from imitation. While they did manage to get limited trademark, it only applies in very specific circumstances, with one judge ruling that, due to the nature of the fashion industry, all colour was essentially functional.

How to Get Your Colour-Scheme Protected

So you have a distinct colour-scheme for a unique product in your field that passes the functionality test. What’s the next step? According to U.S law, that colour needs to have taken on a ‘secondary meaning’ in the eyes of the public. Simply put: you can’t trademark cyan for your tableware range, unless a good chunk of the population now associate cyan with your cutlery. Therefore, you need to have been making this product range, without the help of copyright law, for some time already.
It’s not just the USA either. Australian law requires a ‘record of colour use’ before a trademark will be considered, with the colour in question being used ‘intensively and extensively’ over a period of time. After all, if you could pre-emptively trademark a colour the system would be wide open to abuse from professional litigants. Make sure the colour is demonstrably yours.

How It Will Apply

First, your trademark will only apply in your industry. While T-Mobile may have sued a blog for using magenta, the blog in question was concerned with mobile phones; AKA telecommunications, AKA T-Mobile’s industry. If I want to open a delivery service tomorrow and spray all my trucks magenta, there’s nothing they can do about it. Colours are defined by industry.
Secondly, you will only be protected worldwide if you apply to be. In the EU this is via a Community Trade Mark. Make no mistake, what you consider ‘your’ colour may already be in use elsewhere in the world, and will cause a severe headache if you end up going global. Just see the difficulty faced by apple bringing their trademarked ‘iTV’ over to the UK (where the name doesn’t carry quite the same connotations).
At the end of the day, copyrighting colour is a minefield any growing business will need to navigate. While it may seem a headache, try and imagine how you’ll feel if a rival company gets there first.

Attached Images:

License: Creative Commons image source
License: Creative Commons image source

Article contributed by Alfie Davenport, who writes for a printing and binding company, PrintExpress.co.uk; who are specialists in booklets, catalogues and business card printing.

What does networking mean for you?

January 6, 2013 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

You’re in the conference room of a very grey office building. Twenty others are milling about in name tags. You’re juggling a whole armload of armour, glass of red in your right hand and a cocktail napkin in your left, three vegetable tartlets precariously stacked. The big conundrum is not how you are going to introduce yourself and make a good impression, but how you might possibly get one of those tartlets in your mouth whilst maintaining some measure of dignity. Ugh. Rewind.
Networking needn’t be so unpleasant. The old ways are slowly giving way to new traditions. It’s time to get creative. What works for you? Networking is infinitely more effective when carried out in a way that is uniquely you. Where are you most comfortable connecting? Under what circumstances do your talents really shine? Those are the events you should seek out.
Let’s clear some things up first. By networking, I mean connecting in the following way:

live and in person
with (relative) strangers
on a professional level

What about social media?

Social media is a kind of networking, but it isn’t really connecting. It can however be a great conduit for the real thing. LinkedIn, for example, is a good way to make an initial caonnection and source out people you’re interested in meeting. A few meaningful messages exchanged online can open the door to a close professional relationship. Making the connecting live and in person is the vital next step. Would you sign a contact or hire a new employee who existed for you solely online?

How to stand out

The trick we’re all trying to master, of course, is to appear both interesting and interested. To begin with, you must select the event wisely. Avoid generic networking groups like the plague. Who is your target market? For example, if you’re in the health industry, you might be interested in events that draw doctors, nurses or other health professionals. Don’t limit yourself to “networking events” specifically. Conferences and public speaking engagements are a great way to connect with like minds.
How about organising an event yourself? Do you belong to a LinkedIn group you are particularly fond of? Here you have the added benefit of knowing who might be there and doing some research ahead of time. Get informed about who they are and what they do. Prepared questions generally come off rather canned, but if you have some extra info under your wing, the conversation will flow easier. Whatever the event you’re attending, it wouldn’t hurt to bone up on the latest news in the industry. You need to be prepared for whatever conversation comes up. The latest news in the business is a great conversation starter, much more interesting than the weather.

Network everywhere, all the time

Networking is part of life. You can do it on the train, in the lobby of your building, at lunch and at the races. Remember, your network grows exponentially with every new contact you make. There is always the potential to connect further with your contact’s contacts and so on and so forth. The possibilities are endless.
Some tips:
Have a drink or have a snack, not both. You need a free hand for shaking and gesturing.
Don’t drink too much. You need to keep your wits about you. Sip slowly. When even one else gets tipsy, you’ll have the upper hand.
Don’t hang around the buffet table. You’re not there to hang with the shy people. Get out there where the cool kids are.
Do your research. Your time is precious. Attend the right events.
Shake things up. Try different types of events. Put yourself in unusual situations. Give a speech. Make joke once in awhile.
Amy Knapp is a business blogger based in Sydney, AUS, writing regularly for Australian Job Search – InsideTrak. Educated in Law and the Fine Arts, her work champions the marriage of the creative and the corporate.

Productivity Killers of a Writer

January 4, 2013 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

We writers are a blessed breed as not many other people get to sit around doing nothing all day long. We get to go to the beach whenever we feel like it, go to the pub for lunch and choose to stay there for the rest of the day, or just watch mindless rubbish on TV all day long. For some people, spending the entire time watching Jeremy Kyle and home shopping channels on TV while drinking endless cups of tea is a dream come true and writers get to live that dream, or at least that’s what some people seem to think. The reality, of course, is that watching TV doesn’t pay the rent and we do actually have to get some work done from time to time, although even well-disciplined workers can still find their productivity suffering if they are not careful. However by simply keeping away from some of the biggest productivity killers you will be well on the way to actually getting something done.
Don’t Be a Twit
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook will destroy your productivity levels if you allow them to. What’s more is that it is not as though you are spending your time doing something constructive because playing bubble blast or reading what your friends have had for breakfast today contributes absolutely nothing towards getting your jobs done. The best way to avoid the output sapping platforms from resulting in you making no money is to not turn them on in the first place. Keep your tabs open only to the web pages that you really do need and once you have finished all of your tasks, you are then free to watch videos of funny animals on Facebook at your leisure.
Just One More Game
Start up the PS3 to finally beat that level on Black Ops and you had might as well say goodbye to the chances of getting a single word written. Once you have started playing, getting separated from the console becomes more difficult than splitting the atom and the concept of time becomes lost in the challenge of hitting the triangle and circle buttons at exactly the right moments. If you are thinking to yourself: “I’ll turn it off after just one game”, then think again. Keep well away from the machine; don’t even look at it and you might stand a chance of getting those blogs written after all.
Checking Up On the News
No you’re not. You’re not checking up on the news at all, you’re just making an excuse to do something other than working and you know it. You only checked 30 minutes ago anyway so what do you suppose has happened within that half an hour that so urgently requires your attention? Besides, even if something tragic has happened why does it require your attention at all? A huge earthquake in some part of the world for example, is a tragedy indeed but how does you reading about it make the slightest bit of difference to anything? You can still read the news later once you have completed your work so just keep focused on completing your tasks and you can give the news all of your attention later.
It can be all too easy to make excuses or to get lost in something else and before you know it, the working day is over and you have managed to do nothing. Remember to keep your discipline, recognise and keep away from those things that are a distraction to you getting things done and you should find that you are productive and soon delivering quality pieces well within deadlines.
Ian Arnison-Phillips is a copywriter for Apple Copywriters. If you are still struggling to find the motivation and discipline to get your guest blogging finished, we have professional writers who are ready and waiting to help you out.

How Modular Booth Designs Increase Trade Show Portability

January 1, 2013 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Considering the time and money that businesses pour into their trade booths, it makes sense that the trade booths would be designed with longevity in mind. After all, why invest hours on top of hours, or thousands of dollars, into designing and/or buying your booth if it will only be used once? You want to make sure your booth looks professional and that it will meet all of your company’s needs. You want it to attract customers, but it is also important that it be easy to set up and take down, that the complicated logistics of transporting it do not outweigh the benefits of using it in the first place. Modular booth designs are a great option for many businesses, largely because they are so portable. But there are other benefits to modular designs as well. Let’s review some of these benefits.
Great portability
Let’s face it: not every booth representative is also a handyman. In fact, most are not. So why do companies sometimes expect their employees to know the intricacies of setting up and taking down a trade show booth? Modular display booths are built to go up and come down quickly and easily, without the need for complicated tools or expertise in carpentry. A booth that can be quickly disassembled saves your employees a lot of hassle, stress, and time. It also makes it easier to transport the booth as smaller pieces, requiring lower baggage fees or less room in the trunk of a car.
Display flexibility
Another benefit of modular booth designs, closely related to portability, is that modular booths are scalable – that means that you can use only a small part of the display booth when you do not need the full-size kiosk, or when you have two conferences the same week and want to have booths at both. This can also be very helpful for adjusting to different space requirements. Some trade shows will allow you the space for your whole booth, others will only allot you enough room for half. Using a modular display lets you scale the booth to the size you need.
Saving money
Many businesses shy away from modular booths because they have a higher sticker price. But the truth is that this needs to be viewed as investment: spending more upfront will save you money down the road. Instead of buying multiple booths for multiple shows, you can buy one booth for use at a number of different shows. You will also save money on transporting the booth, making it an even better investment. Finally, the time you and your representatives save in taking the booth apart and putting it back together also should be viewed as a saved cost. Time is money, after all.
Functional flexibility
Besides being scalable in size, many modular booths are also flexible in their shapes. Many can be reconfigured or reorganized to fit into odd floor spaces. Depending on your needs, you can make a booth that is wide open or a booth that is enclosed and intimate. This will come in extra handy if you want to open your booth to the public for part of the day, and then close it off to only specific kinds of potential customers later in the afternoon.
Modular booth designs are a great way to save time and money while making your booth more flexible.
About the Guest Blogger:
Justine Savage works at Nimlok, a company that provides custom trade show solutions, including modular trade show displays.

More Uses for Social Media in Business

December 28, 2012 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

http://blogs.technet.com/b/smallbusiness/archive/2012/10/24/top-ten-tips-how-to-use-social-media-to-win-new-business.aspx

When businesses look at the potential applications of social media they will often rub their hands together with glee as they realise all the marketing opportunities before them. There are countless ways you can use social media to network with potential customer and clients, and the interconnected nature of such sites and powerful infrastructure mean they’re perfectly designed for helping an idea to go global. Then of course there’s all the information that people who use these networks upload about themselves which makes these sites ideal for connecting with targeted audience. In short it’s really quite useful.
But there are other uses of social media too, and if your company is looking at social networking only in terms of marketing then you are missing a big trick. Here are some of the other applications of social media that are just as powerful but that can help other aspects of your business.
Communication
Social media is a fantastically powerful communications tool that has a lot of advantages over more traditional forms of communication such as post and e-mail. This includes B2B communication, B2C communication and also internal communication between your colleagues. If you need to give your entire team up-to-date information then why send out hundreds of e-mails when you could just create a group or page that everyone can access? While the cloud has become a source for storing information, social media is still a great delivery tool that brings content to people. While you can store files in could database, using groups puts that information with regularity into peoples hands and allows them to comment and even build a database of responses and inquires.
Collaboration
Social media can also be highly useful for collaboration, and there are a number of ways you can use social networks to get multiple people to work on the same project or to coordinate organization elements. Think about cross collaboration for creativity and generating new ideas, think about the benefits of things like Twitter Chats.
Feedback and Crowdsourcing
Using social media you have a connection with the very members of the general public you hope to become your customers. At the same time though it’s important to remember that this bridge is two way meaning you can also use it to get information from them that can help you to provide a better business model or come up with new ideas. Ask the people you are creating for what they want and you can’t really go wrong. And recently there has been a potentially even more useful form of social network too – crowdfunding sites that enable you to get funding from the very customers you’re designing your products for.
Networking
It’s not just the general public that you can connect with using social media, it’s also other businesses which can potentially benefit you in a large number of different ways. Using social media you can find potential business partners to help you with a range of aspects of your business. Sites like LinkedIn take great advantage of this fact and it’s a great way to advance your business. Think of LinkedIn connections as a reason to introduce yourself and tell people what you do, the product or service you offer and how you fulfill needs and wants.
Business Models
Finally it’s also possible to go one step further and to integrate social media into your very business model, or come up with an entirely new business model based on the capabilities of social media. This could mean you just launch your own social network, or it could mean that you create a business based around a social element in the vein of Groupon. Great businesses that find huge success often do so by taking advantage of technological developments in smart ways, so think about how you could build a business model or improve your current system by integrating web 2.0.
Ben Austin is an internet marketing expert and has been writing articles advising webmasters about how to optimize their sites. He is of the opinion that approaching a trustworthy link building agency is very important if one wants a good Page Rank for one’s site.

How to Become a Better Graphic Designer

December 26, 2012 by Basil Puglisi 3 Comments

Drafting table with graphic design tools used pre-computer design. © Alison Gilbert

Graphic design is a huge part of working on the web, and if you want to push your business further then being able to make crisp and professional looking digital images is an incredible edge to have. Many people will choose which products they buy and which websites they spend time on almost entirely by the way they look, and if your imagery is low definition and poorly designed then you’ll damage your reputation and make yourself appear amateurish.
It’s a great skill to have then, but not one that everyone is naturally gifted with. So if you need to improve your graphic design abilities, here’s how you can get better:
Get the Right Software

When I was younger I used to play the piano, and when my Mum got me my first Yamaha keyboard I remember suddenly feeling like Rick Wakeman (if that went over your head then look up Yes on Spotify…). The point is that with the right sound effects and beats anyone could sound amazing and Adobe has a suite of software that can help you do this. PhotoShop is kind of the same thing – adjust the colours, use a couple of filters, and even the ugliest picture will end up looking passable. Spend a little more time with it and you be able to crop, shadow and enhance just about everything you touch.
Learn the Features
Of course to really make the most of this though you’ll also need to know how to use the filters and the colour adjustment tools – and to do that you’ll need to spend some time watching tutorials online or getting a friend to show you. YouTube has a wealth of FREE knowledge on how to do just about anything and if you have a dual screen setup you find it goes even faster as you can work as the video progresses. A lot of it is just tinkering and messing around, so set aside some time to just experiment and see where it takes you.
Take Your Time
One thing you cannot be when you do graphic design is impatient. If you find yourself ever saying ‘that will do’ then your site or logo isn’t going to look great. You really need to spend your time if you want to end up with something that looks professional (you think Microsoft ever say ‘that will do’ when they design Windows icons?). As a best practice consider graphic projects like wine, sometimes you need to open them up let them airout before you can enjoy them. Try to at least put a few days between creating and the final design, it’s ev en better if you can work on something else in between.
Use Other Elements
If you simply don’t have time to make your image as intricate and smooth as you’d like it to, then one solution is to use another image as a resource. For instance a great way to make an abstract design is to take a photo out of a moving car and then enhance the colours/warp the image. Alternatively you can use a stock logo that’s in the public domain and then edit it to make it unique. It’s kinda like cheating, but it works. Stock images are a great sorce for jump starting creativity or bringing an idea to completiion.
Pay Attention to Details
It’s very important if you want your site to look its best that you pay attention to the minor details which means for instance things like the font. Often when someone designs an image they will forget that they’re using the default font and this can make an otherwise good-looking image appear very lazy. Create a check list and make sure you’ve done everything you can to make your images their best.
Outsource
Design still looking like a child drew it? Then it’s time to outsource your images and design and get it done by professionals. It might be a bit more money and a bit more time, but ultimately it’s one of the most important investments you can make for your business. Once you decide to go outside just be prepared to get what you pay for, riverr has lots of logo offers for $5 but don;t be surprised if they too look cheap or if you see them pop up on other sites looking sinmalr to your design.
James Sax is a technology lover and an avid blogger who is currently working as SEO manager for Link Wheel SEO You can follow him on Twitter to read his insightful tweets.

Relational Database Design: A Best Practices Primer

December 24, 2012 by Basil Puglisi 1 Comment

database-design-development — http://www.riceconsultingllc.com/2012/database-building.php

Relational databases are the dynamic compartments of fundamental web and enterprise cloud applications. Relational databases normalize, sort and link data using tables and queries. The design is open to the interpretation of the database designer, but a poor database design can be disastrous for any business.
A poor design can slow performance, inhibit scalability and create bugs in an enterprise application. To avoid the pitfalls of poor design, a good design plan is critical.
Primary and Foreign Table Keys
Primary and foreign keys link tables together, so developers can query multiple tables in one Structured Query Language (SQL) statement. All tables require a primary key, and any tables that reference another table requires a foreign key to that primary key. For instance, if a database consists of customer information and the related customer orders, a primary key named “CustomerId” can be created in the “Customers” table and a foreign key named “CustomerId” is created in the “Orders” table. The customer ID field is always unique, so each customer is uniquely queried with its linked order. The result is that a programmer can query and display a customer with the customer orders.
Table Indexes
Essentially, the primary and foreign table keys create an index for the tables, but secondary indexes can also be created. Typically, indexes are created on fields that are used in the SQL “join” statements or columns where the programmer queries based on these column values. Indexes sort values for faster lookups and queries. Indexes can mean the different between a query that takes 10 minutes to run and 5 seconds to run.
Types of Table Relationships
Relational databases have two fundamental relationships: one-to-one and one-to-many. There is also the many-to-many relationship, but this type of relationship is not a normalized standard. Many-to-many relationships should be broken down to a one-to-one or one-to-many relationship.
A one-to-one relationship means one record in a primary table links to only one record in a secondary table. For instance, a customer can only have one login identity. The table design can include a main “Customer” table with the customer’s information, and then a “Login” table contains the customer’s login identity and password.
A one-to-many relationship means one record in the primary table links to several records in the secondary table. An example is the customer and orders relationship. A customer has one account, but a customer can have one or many orders. Linking the customer and orders table will result in several records dependent on the number of orders processed by the customer.
Table Normalization
Table normalization is standard in the industry, but each programmer and database designer has his own idea of proper normalization. Normalization is the process of reducing data duplication, increasing data stability and facilitating streamlined updates and deletions of data.
For instance, a new database designer might put “option 1” and “option 2” as database columns for a customer order. However, what happens if the customer has a third option or the business wants to expand to allow for a third option? This table design does not facilitate scalability for customer options. Using this example, the right way to normalize the database is to create an “Options” table and use primary and foreign keys to link the order and option tables. The “Options” table has a foreign key that contains the order number, and the SQL can link to an unlimited amount of options for the customer order.
After the basic database design is set up, there might be some tweaks and changes made to the layout after deployment. This is common with new database layouts, but these fundamentals will help the database admin fall into common configuration pitfalls that impede business growth based on the technology.
Jennifer Marsh is a software developer, programmer and technology writer and occasionally blogs for Rackspace Hosting.

Mobile Data Research Opportunities Grow

December 21, 2012 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Gone are the days when all you could do on your phone was make calls and send texts, and you had to lug around a handset the size of a small brick. Now increasing numbers of us are using smartphones on which people can surf the internet, take photos and use apps as well as making calls and sending texts. Many marketers are seeing this growing smartphone use as a huge opportunity for market research and are approaching the concept in innovative ways.

Market Size

The market for smartphones is huge, and growing steadily. It is estimated that there are 6 billion smartphones being used around the world, and more than half of us in the UK have and use a smartphone. As handsets come down in price and contracts end, it’s fair to say that this number will rise even higher. The apps market has grown from almost zero in little over 5 years, and all major companies are looking at ways to interact with their customer base by using mobile apps and technology.

Research

Most companies are actively exploring the possibilities offered by mobile phone research as a new method of being able to interact with their customers. One of the major benefits is the speed of the information being relayed after purchase. Imagine you have a customer who has downloaded your research app into their phone, and by using GPS you know they have just gone into a major supermarket. They can then be immediately targeted with surveys relevant to what they are buying and why, and data can be more accurate when the purchase or decision is fresh in the memory. As well as the basic questionnaire, the smartphone also gives the market researcher the opportunity to ask participants to scan bar codes of the products they are buying or have rejected, take pictures of items or displays in the store or labelling on products. Some of the research doesn’t even have to involve answering questions. Apps can track where people go using GPS, track how long they spend in each store, and gather data about other issues such as how they manage their music collection, how long they spend taking photographs or how often they download new music or apps to use on their phone.

Getting People Involved

This all sounds great, but it does of course hinge on getting enough people involved and downloading the apps to be able to take the surveys. Perhaps surprisingly, over 80% of people surveyed in recent research said that they would be prepared to download the research app onto their smartphone and be targeted with surveys as they go about their everyday business. One of the main drawbacks of traditional or internet based research is that it can be skewed in favour of certain demographic groups and it can be difficult to get a representative sample. Young men, for example, are often reluctant to participate in traditional surveys but seem happy to complete surveys on their phone.
Creative Commons image source
This was an article by Kieran Graham of Mobile Enterprise Solutions. MESL specialise in Mobile Data Systems for delivery companies and supply chains. Follow Mobile Enterprise Systems on Twitter to keep up to date.

How to Use Your WordPress Website in Mobile Marketing

December 19, 2012 by Basil Puglisi 2 Comments

It seems like everyone has some kind of mobile device these days. They’re so distracting that places like hospitals and restaurants are banning people from using them while inside those buildings.
Certain areas of the United States are passing laws that prohibit people from using them while driving. But all the people using these devices have one clear benefit, and that’s in mobile marketing for your small business.
If your small business website isn’t compatible with mobile devices, then you’re giving up the opportunity to reach millions of mobile internet users, some of who rarely if ever use an actual computer. Depending on the type of device they use, how your website appears to them could look very different compared to what you see on your computer screen.

Creating a Mobile-Friendly Small Business Website

WordPress is a great platform for small business websites. It’s a great place to start because it’s easy to update. Google likes WordPress. WordPress is updated frequently and there are a lot of features called plugins that you can just turn on. There’s even one to make your website more mobile-friendly by doing things like making your blog posts more readable.
A lot of the newer plugins have something called responsive web design. Those will actually reformat themselves based on the size of the screen viewing them. WordPress offers a lot of great solutions and if you already use the content management system, it’s going to be easier to give visitors to your site a nice viewing experience.

Designating an Employee to Update the Website

A lot of business owners are so busy, but they also have staff that can learn how to mobile-enable the company website. If this sounds like your situation and you aren’t technically inclined, consider signing up an employee for a class like Mobile Marketing for Non-Techies through
www.theschoolofinternetmarketing.com, where people can learn to use WordPress to build their own site in a single weekend.
The benefit of signing up an employee for a course like this is that they’re probably younger. They are probably more internet-friendly. And best of all, they probably have a mobile device – or maybe even a plethora of mobile devices that they can use to see how your company website appears via those different methods.

WordPress is the Cost-Efficient Choice

The next thing to consider is, how practical is this? It’s not uncommon to run across someone who has spent thousands of dollars in an attempt to build a website that they don’t know anything about – including whether or not it’s mobile-enabled, or how to update it with that fresh content that Google loves. In that sense, WordPress is the obvious choice.
WordPress has all the functionality of software that would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars little more than a decade ago. Most of the plugins you need are free, or you might decide to invest a few dollars on a specialty theme or to learn how to get started. For a small business, WordPress is very cost effective.

Mobile Marketing Plugins for WordPress

Plugins are similar to an iPhone or Android app, where you download it and it extends the functionality of your smartphone, tablet, or other internet-ready device. A plugin is the same idea. It adds more functionality to your website, and most of the apps are free. Here are some plugins that help make your WordPress site more mobile-friendly.

DeviceAtlas – This little plugin packs quite a punch. It determines what type of device your visitor is using and then directs them to the mobile version of your site that is compatible with their device operating system.

WordPress Mobile Adapter – In just a few clicks, make your WordPress site readily able to support more than 5,000 we-enabled devices.

WordPress Mobile Pack – This plugin gives a lot of control. However, it has so many options that it can seem overwhelming at first.

When people are searching for you on your phone from Google or some other way, they’re going to wind up at your website first. So you want your website to look right without requiring them to download an app first. It’s inconvenient, and many will just move on to another site instead of going through the hassle of downloading an app.
One of the misconceptions people have is mobile apps versus mobile-enabled websites. People are used to downloading app, and apps are great. Everyone with a smartphone has used apps whether it’s to play Angry Birds or Draw Something, or just to use Yelp or Foursquare to find a restaurant. As a small business owner, you can do both but the starting point is to get your website mobile-enabled. From there, the possibilities are endless.
James Martell is an Internet pioneer who discovered the lucrative world of the Internet in 1999. He is a leading expert in affiliate marketing, SEO & outsourcing. He lives in White Rock BC, a suburb of Vancouver, with his wife Arlene. Follow him on Twitter @JamesDMartell