It`s New Year`s Eve and while everyone is celebrating, it`s a good idea to remember that you have a whole year ahead of you . . . a year full of surprises and plans. What are you going to do to grow your business this coming year?

There are a lot of things going on right now with the economy and with business. You`ll see a lot of bad news. That doesn`t mean you have to be a part of it, though! There`s absolutely no reason why you can`t improve your business this year.

Companies that offer real, quality products and customer service are going to be far more likely to survive any economic crisis. Of course, it helps to have a product that is useful, as well, something that people will want or need no matter what the financial situation.

Happy New Year and here`s to you and your business in 2009!

Twitter is one of the newer social media tools for small business that is rapidly growing in popularity. Serving as a microblogging platform, Twitter challenges you to answer the question “what are you doing?” in 140 characters or less.

What`s great about this business tool is that it can be used to reach a very large number of people all at once. However, you don`t want to spam because as a social network, it is extremely easy to lose followers if you are misusing it.

Most people have great success with Twitter as a tool for small business by using it in a social manner. They tweet about what they are working on, projects and meetings and such. Occasionally, they throw in a self-promoting tweet. This might sound like it takes a lot of time, but the truth is, you can easily manage Twitter in a few minutes a day, spread out throughout the day.

For the best results, make sure you follow others. You`ll find that this handy online tool is an excellent method of networking with dozens or even hundreds of other people around the world in real time. Using it carefully means you can gain a lot of very useful publicity.

Mobile marketing is relatively new and because of this, it`s a very good opportunity. Email marketing was very hot before everyone started using it as a method of spamming. These days, while email marketing still has a place, it`s not nearly as effective because it is overrun with junk.

Mobile marketing is still fresh enough that it hasn`t been taken over by spam. While there are certainly some spam messages out there, it`s not like you will be ignored if you send a legit mobile marketing message because of all the others pouring in.

For many people, their mobile phone is their lifeline. It`s what they keep with them all the time and they use it for everything from internet to staying in touch with friends and family. It`s the perfect place to target specific audiences, as well and we are only just learning what the possibilities might be.

Could 2009 be the year you try mobile marketing to boost your business?

Writing your own articles, as we discussed yesterday, is one thing. Copywriting is another story. It`s not as simple as article marketing, unfortunately and that means you will need to hire someone who can do the job properly.

Copywriting is usually used on ads, catalogs and websites, as well as a number of other places where you have contact with potential clients. The entire reason copywriting is used is to make people want to buy what you`re selling, so it had better be good.

A professional copywriter will have the experience needed to turn words into something that catch people and make them want to take action. It is something that can be learned, but if you don`t have the experience, it is very difficult to do a good job of copywriting. Very few people are born with the ability to write well enough to actually convince people to buy.

Copywriting is something best left to the pros. If you really want results, hire someone who knows what they are doing.

Article marketing is often thought of as something for online shops, but even offline stores and businesses can benefit from online publicity. The nice thing about article marketing is that it`s totally free if you do the writing yourself.

Steps to Writing a Publicity Article

This isn`t a very difficult thing to do. All you need is an idea to start with. For example, if you are a real estate agent, you might do an article on how to select an agent to sell your home, or perhaps a list of tips for finding the perfect home.

Step One: Come up with a title. The title is what catches everyone`s attention. Having something boring won`t get your article read, so look for something with punch in it. “Real Estate Agents: Your Best Friend or Worst Enemy?” would catch people`s attention, for example.

Step Two: Write five sentences about your topic. These should be main sentences that state a mini topic, within the main topic.

Step Three: Write three to four sentences about each mini topic. These should just explain what you stated in the first sentence.

Step Four: Write an intro and a summary. These will just tie the ends of the article up nicely and only need to be about three sentences long.

Step Five: Write your bio. A brief, two sentence description of yourself and your business, along with a one line call to action will finish this up.

Now you have an article ready to go with your article marketing. Repeat this a couple times a week and you`ll have a powerful publicity magnet going.

It`s that time of year, time to start thinking about what you`ll be doing for your business in the coming year. For those who haven`t yet embraced the internet as a means of marketing, it`s high time you started to think about it and what better time than right now?

Integrated marketing simply means a hybrid of online and offline marketing techniques, something that every business can benefit from. Whether you currently use internet marketing or not, there is always room for more. It`s a great way to boost your business exposure.

There are so many ways to promote online that you definitely don`t have to do anything that you might prefer not to. Whether article marketing, social media or banner ads are your preference, there`s a way to increase business. But that also doesn`t mean you need to leave off real world advertising. That`s what integrated marketing is all about, combining the two.

If you can successfully create an integrated marketing strategy and use it, then you should be able to see vast improvements to your business in 2009.

Holiday related searches on Google and other search engines are huge. Writing about the holidays, whether Christmas, Valentine`s or Halloween, is a great way to increase SEO on your website, so holiday themed posts on business blogs are a great idea.

However, it`s important to note that it can take a while for pages to get indexed with the search engines, so any SEO you do now won`t show up for a while. That means you need to plan ahead for optimum writing. For example, now would be an excellent time to start working on Valentine`s Day, adding keywords for this holiday so when the time comes and people are frantically searching for chocolates and Valentine, your posts will pop up.

With SEO, it`s all about strategic planning. Make sure you start early and get listed nice and high for those holiday keywords to drive a little extra traffic to your site. It`s a great way to increase potential clients and you don`t have to pay a cent.

When you hear the words “viral marketing”, chances are you think of the internet. While viral marketing is certainly something that works very well online, it can also be used offline with great success.

The main propulsion behind viral marketing is word of mouth and that`s something that can be generated offline, albeit a little slower than online. With the right buzz, your marketing campaign can go a long ways. A few ideas on how to get that buzz . . .

• Offer a freebie for anyone who recommends a friend.
• Give out fliers outlining your offers, include coupons or ask people to bring the flier in for a discount.
• Offer 2 for 1 on something.

Anything that gets people talking and sharing the news about your business is viral marketing. It may tend to spread a little slower than online, but you`ll find that the concept is the same and the results are just as great.

Not everyone goes into business with an exit plan and that is not a good idea. In fact, knowing how you will leave everything if you end up too worn out or sick of it is a very good idea. It gives you a plan should things go wrong.

You most likely have no plans to lose your small business, but unfortunately, it does happen. People get sick or injured and sometimes simply can`t go on.

For most entrepreneurs, selling the business is their main exit plan. Small businesses may not attract as much buying power as larger corporations, but if you do get a bite, collect the potential buyer`s information and store it away, just in case. You never know when this might come in handy, even if you don`t need it just now.

There are other ways out of your small business, too. For some, passing the business on is a good way to go. Whatever you choose, it needs to be a strategy that you are comfortable with.

You can write as many press releases as you want, but if no one notices them, then you might as well be talking to a brick wall. The only reason to write a press release is to get it picked up and to create publicity for your business, otherwise, it`s completely useless. But just how can you ensure that the media will find your news interesting?

Aim it at the readers. Promotion is going to get you nowhere. Editors are looking for interesting stories that their readers will be interested in, not free advertising. That means you had better come up with a unique angle to your story that will appeal to the audience of the media you are aiming at.

Limit yourself. It might be tempting to write a press release on every tiny thing that happens in your business, but that will only end up with your press releases being ignored. Remember, you can get a reputation very quickly with the media, so make it a good one.

Get it in on time. If you are sending out time sensitive press releases, such as an announcement for an upcoming event, then don`t send it out the day before. You`ll need to give editors some lead time, otherwise it will just end up in the trash.

Making sure your press releases actually get read is the first step to true success. Follow these steps to ensure that you get the best chance and make a good impression.