Email Campaigns

Are you looking for a better way to communicate with customers? Are you doing any communication with your current customers? Making contact with your current, loyal customers is a great way to get them into your store more often. You can first begin with collecting email addresses. This is easiest to do at your point of sale, either by asking or having a sign up sheet next to the register.

Once you have gathered a group of email addresses, you might want to consider an online source like "Constant Contact." This is an email newsletter service that allows you to send our mass emails without being considered spam. They have hundreds of templates for you to choose from and all you have to do is type in your information. You then upload an excel spreadsheet of email addresses, or type them in directly on the website.

Another great benefit is that this service also tracks which emails bounce back, are not opened or any other problems. This allow you to keep a much better database of customers. It also allow anyone to "unsubscribe" from your newsletter which is a great bonus feature.

Constant Contact starts at around $15/month and provides you with a free 60 day trial.

Fresh Local Art & Produce Market

Starting on Tuesday, April 21 and every Tuesday through September, you can bring your local art and produce to the shores of Lake Lure, in beautiful western North Carolina. Space for vendors' tables and tents must be reserved in advance.We are always looking for new members. Give us a call at 828-691-5009 or email ken@lakeguys.com for details.
This is a joint effort of The Lake Guys and the Town of Lake Lure

Do You Need a Website?

Do you need a website, but not sure how to go about creating one? Not sure of the cost? I'm sure there are many different services out there, but we've come across Vistaprint.com which offers website templates for $5.00, $10.00, or $20.00 a month. You choose how large a website you want, and what price you want to pay. They have hundreds of templates and it is very user friendly to set up your very own website. It even allows for you to sell your products online. To see if this is a good fit for your business, follow the link below. http://www.vistaprint.com/websites.aspx?xnav=TsrItem&xnid=aLMWebsitesStringMarketing+Services&dng=Marketing+Services

If you have used this service or perhaps another one like it, please leave your feedback so others can see the benefits or challenges.

Twittering 101

Need helping know what Twitter is and how to use it? Follow this link for a quick and easy tutorial on becoming a Tweet.

http://www.managebetter.biz/ME2/Sites/Default.asp?SiteID=BFB1B596875343AFA35B0686A2BB1096&id=8D1F9E6CF96E4A7FA838E8B5E23A768B&mod=ManageBetter

Lt. Gov. Dalton, Golden LEAF Announce help for N.C. Small Businesses

Looking for captial to help your small business? Check out this press release on a new NC revolving loan fund for small businesses.
http://www.goldenleaf.org/newsroom/lt-gov-dalton-golden-leaf-announce-help-for-nc-small-businesses/

Local Merchants on YouTube!

"Off The Beaded Path" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9cgP0Pcxkc

"Positively Paper" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UjdfQ5P-kE

"Next Level Gamez" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToY8i7Ep4Kc

Loans and the New Stimulus Package for Small Businesses

Small business owners will have an opportunity to hear from a panel of experts on how to access various government loan programs and stimulus funds at a free seminar this month.
The seminar, “Loans and the New Stimulus Package for Small Businesses,” will be held on Thursday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Library Auditorium at Isothermal Community College. The event is open to all small business owners in Rutherford and Polk counties. It is sponsored by the Small Business Center at Isothermal Community College along with the North Carolina GATE Program, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“The government, more than ever, is trying to help small businesses get started, grow and succeed,” said Ted Hamrick, the GATE counselor in Isothermal’s Small Business Center. “We hope that our local business owners will take advantage of the expertise offered by the folks involved in this seminar. There should really be some good information.”
Presenting at the seminar will be Mike Arriola of the U.S. Small Business Administration and Lamar Whorton of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Both men are experts on the various federal loan and other programs offered by their respective agencies. They will also provide the latest information about the federal economic stimulus package and how it might help small businesses.
The program will include time for questions, answers and discussion. For more information on the seminar, contact Hamrick at 828-286-3636, ext. 203.

What in the World is Social Networking?

OK - have you been hearing a lot about blogs, facebook, twitter and others? Not sure what they are or how to use them? Well HubSpot is offering a free webinar to learn more about how to use these FREE forms of advertising. Just follow this link and sign up for the free class. http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-webinars/social-media-crm/?source=email-20090407. The class is this Tuesday, April 14, 2009 from 2pm-3pm.

Can't break away for this class next week? No worries. Tri Local will be offering similar seminars or workshops on this subject in the near future.