December, 2011 | READY2SPARK

A friend of mine had worked hard for years and overcame tremendous adversity to build a successful event planning business. Then, one day, her empire crumbled. An unexpected flood ravaged her city and her offices were under 9 feet of water. She lost almost everything – her cars, her offices, her manufacturing facility. She was utterly devastated. So, what do you do when your bricks and mortar are washed away? What do you do when most of your clients are facing the same situation as you…and your source of income disappears? What do you do when insurance companies are backed up with thousands of claims, just like yours? She turned to the one place that was ready and willing to help – the Search Foundation. They wrote a cheque to my friend to get her started on her road to recovery…because that’s what they do. They help event planners in need. If you’re not familiar with the foundation I encourage you to watch this video, created by the uber talented Brett Culp.

This holiday season, my client Maggie Speaks and I are partnering to raise funds for the Search Foundation. We have put together a fun holiday video built off of The 12 Days of Christmas and every time it’s tweeted, we will donate $10 to the foundation. So far, we’ve raised $850. We are trying to reach our cap of $1,000 – so help us get there. Simply tweet the link to the video using the hashtag #searchfoundation.

(please click here if you are unable to view the video)

Happy holidays.

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Tags: search foundation

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

What’s coming in 2012

Sure, there are more opportunities for businesses like yours to market yourself. You have blogs, Facebook, email marketing, banner ads, mobile marketing, SMS marketing, and the list goes on and on. But what happens when everyone tries to leverage these channels? Noise. So, yes, you have more options than ever before…but those options have actually made it harder for your business to stand out.

As 2012 approaches, my goal is to not only create a resource for small businesses to go for information on how to market their companies in a new world, but provide clarity. There’s a ton of information out there. How do you know what makes sense for your business and how do you do it right?

Join me over the coming months and we’ll discuss the key things you need to know to stay ahead of the crowd, including:

Building a killer website
Blogging for business
Getting Business via Twitter
How to effectively use Facebook
Optimizing your LinkedIn page
Successful Public Relations strategies
How to write awesome award entries
Successful print advertising
How to get started in Public Speaking
Moving from wallflower to expert Networker
Understanding Digital Advertising
What is SEO (search engine optimization) and how do you use it for your business
What is SEM (search engine marketing) and how do you use it for your business
Understanding the power of Affiliate Marketing
Leveraging Influencers
Writing and publishing eBooks
Is SMS marketing right for your business
Why you need to understand Mobile Marketing
Creating exciting videos that sell your products/services
Creating E-Newsletters that customers look forward to
Breaking down Banner / Display marketing
Understanding Retargeting
How to Measure your activities and ensure future ROI

See something you’d like to learn not on the list? Or do you have specific questions you’d like to ask? You can remain anonymous and possibly appear in our upcoming “Ask Lara” feature. Simply email me your question(s).

To a successful 2012!