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Marketing via Websites


WHY DO I NEED A WEB SITE?

These days, having a web site is like having a business card. Even a simple web site will

• Act as a virtual storefront to sell your product or service

• ake your company more visible to a worldwide audience

• Position you as a resource for information

• Complement your other marketing efforts

SET YOUR SIGHTS ON THESE QUESTIONS

• What will your site name be? What if the name of your company is already taken?

• Who will help develop your site and how much will it cost?

• Will you use an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or host your own site?

• What information will be included on your site?

• Will your product or service be for sale on the site?

•

Who will handle the transactions and fulfill the orders?

• What security barriers will be in place, to protect your company's information from outsiders?

• How will privacy be handled once you collect data from site visitors?

•

How will the data be used?

HOW DO YOU CREATE TRAFFIC?

Think about ways you'll promote your site

• Will you register with search engines so you come up in a search?

• Will you want a tracking program to monitor how many people visit your site?

• What about advertising on related web sites? What will the costs be?

• Will you allow other companies to place ads on your site?

•

What will you charge?

• Will you consider exchange links with other sites that complement yours?

(Visitors to your site can click on a link to their site, and vice versa)

INVITE THE BACK

Attracting visitors to your site is one thing, but giving them a reason to return is quite another. Give some thought to these questions

• How will you make your site "sticky?" — appealing enough so visitors come back.

• What are the costs for maintaining your web site?

• Who will be responsible for updating the site? How often?

• Who will respond to email inquiries?

NO SITE IN SIGHT?

Even if you don't have a web site, you can still take advantage of the Internet by

• Setting up an email account so you can send and receive information

• Asking other web sites to include your company information on their "link lists."

• Paying for ads on web sites that relate to your product or service

WebSites

Now You're Clicking

The internet's World Wide Web has changed marketing forever. These days, it seems that "www" is seen and heard everywhere. For companies large and small, the web is a powerful marketing tool that allows your marketing efforts to reach potential customers in your city, your state, the country and indeed the world.

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August 3, 2008 | 2:08 AM Comments  0 comments
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KCK Author Promotes New Book: Now Will You Serve Me?

Now Will You Serve Me? A Collection of Inspirational Reflections for Your Life Journey

This book developed from my writing the first poem titled� Now Will You Serve Me?, after my husband and I endured a traumatic experience with our neighbors. As we were going through that ordeal, I stated to my husband " God is not happy with us",-"We are not serving him wholeheartedly".
We developed a routine - making excuses not to attend church, while focusing on worldly issues and material things. As we waited on an answer to our prayers, we were directed by God immediately to a new church home. Praise God!!!
While at this church, I had the opportunity to read this poem to my former Pastor's wife and she was so moved by it, that she strongly suggested that I compile a book. Shortly after, my former Pastor allowed me to recite my inspirational poems to the congregation every Sunday. The congregation embraced me with tremendous support, encouragement and love.
I began to write a new poem every week based on life events and God's anointing. At times, I would be driving down the highway on my way home from work, and I would get a thought that was so overwhelming that I was compelled to pull over and grab a piece of paper and start writing. I thank God for this gift!
I pray as you read the reflections in this book, you will be uplifted and encouraged to seek God to establish a deeper, closer relationship with him. I know God is real and he gives us the choice to serve him or not! If you choose wisely, you will never regret it and will be richly blessed. To God Be the Glory!!!

By: Brenda G. Williams

Visit: http://www.nowwillyouserveme.com/

FormatISBN

Price

Color (8.5x8.5)

9781434356161$12.00

Buy Now: http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~47719.aspx


July 22, 2008 | 11:07 AM Comments  0 comments
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Complexities of Connecting Formerly Incarcerated People to the Labor Market

New Report Discusses the Complexities of Connecting Formerly Incarcerated People to the Labor Market. More than 1 in 100 American adults are now behind bars. Most will eventually return home, and a great many will find their way to One-Stops or community-based, faith-based and other organizations; yet relatively few of these organizations have experience with working with former prisoners. Going to Work with a Criminal Record was developed to help meet this need. The guide offers fundamental lessons on connecting people with criminal records to appropriate jobs and employers, as well as tools to organize these efforts. It outlines how to avoid mistakes and how to develop important relationships, including with employers, parole officers and the local child support enforcement agency. www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/publications_description.asp?search_id=5&publication_id=238

July 22, 2008 | 8:07 AM Comments  0 comments
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Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership



Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership

Nelson Mandela's birthday is July 18th. As I noticed the worldwide celebrations taking place, I was thinking about my autographed copy of his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. What really impressed me about his impact was his tremendous leadership qualities. I recently read an article that summarized these qualities, and I wanted to share them with you and get the perspective of our community. Below is an excerpt from the article. I also encourage you to read the entire article.


Quote:
Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership
Wednesday, Jul. 09, 2008 By RICHARD STENGEL

. . . I've always thought of what you are about to read as Madiba's Rules (Madiba, his clan name, is what everyone close to him calls him), and they are cobbled together from our conversations old and new and from observing him up close and from afar. They are mostly practical. Many of them stem directly from his personal experience. All of them are calibrated to cause the best kind of trouble: the trouble that forces us to ask how we can make the world a better place.

No. 1
Courage is not the absence of fear — it's inspiring others to move beyond it
"I can't pretend that I'm brave and that I can beat the whole world." But as a leader, you cannot let people know. "You must put up a front."

. . . Prisoners who were with him said watching Mandela walk across the courtyard, upright and proud, was enough to keep them going for days. He knew that he was a model for others, and that gave him the strength to triumph over his own fear.

No. 2
Lead from the front — but don't leave your base behind
When he initiated his negotiations with the government in 1985, there were many who thought he had lost it. "We thought he was selling out," says Cyril Ramaphosa, then the powerful and fiery leader of the National Union of Mineworkers. "I went to see him to tell him, What are you doing? It was an unbelievable initiative. He took a massive risk."

. . . For Mandela, refusing to negotiate was about tactics, not principles. Throughout his life, he has always made that distinction. His unwavering principle — the overthrow of apartheid and the achievement of one man, one vote — was immutable, but almost anything that helped him get to that goal he regarded as a tactic. He is the most pragmatic of idealists.

No. 3
Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front
Mandela loved to reminisce about his boyhood and his lazy afternoons herding cattle. "You know," he would say, "you can only lead them from behind." He would then raise his eyebrows to make sure I got the analogy.

. . . The trick of leadership is allowing yourself to be led too. "It is wise," he said, "to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea."

No. 4
Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport
As far back as the 1960s, Mandela began studying Afrikaans, the language of the white South Africans who created apartheid. His comrades in the ANC teased him about it, but he wanted to understand the Afrikaner's worldview; he knew that one day he would be fighting them or negotiating with them, and either way, his destiny was tied to theirs.

. . . Everyone from ordinary jailers to P.W. Botha was impressed by Mandela's willingness to speak Afrikaans and his knowledge of Afrikaner history. He even brushed up on his knowledge of rugby, the Afrikaners' beloved sport, so he would be able to compare notes on teams and players.


No. 5
Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer
. . . Mandela believed that embracing his rivals was a way of controlling them: they were more dangerous on their own than within his circle of influence. He cherished loyalty, but he was never obsessed by it. After all, he used to say, "people act in their own interest." It was simply a fact of human nature, not a flaw or a defect. The flip side of being an optimist — and he is one — is trusting people too much. But Mandela recognized that the way to deal with those he didn't trust was to neutralize them with charm.

No. 6
Appearances matter — and remember to smile
When Mandela was a poor law student in Johannesburg wearing his one threadbare suit, he was taken to see Walter Sisulu. Sisulu was a real estate agent and a young leader of the ANC. Mandela saw a sophisticated and successful black man whom he could emulate. Sisulu saw the future.

. . . When Mandela was running for the presidency in 1994, he knew that symbols mattered as much as substance. He was never a great public speaker, and people often tuned out what he was saying after the first few minutes. But it was the iconography that people understood. When he was on a platform, he would always do the toyi-toyi, the township dance that was an emblem of the struggle. But more important was that dazzling, beatific, all-inclusive smile. For white South Africans, the smile symbolized Mandela's lack of bitterness and suggested that he was sympathetic to them. To black voters, it said, I am the happy warrior, and we will triumph. The ubiquitous ANC election poster was simply his smiling face. "The smile," says Ramaphosa, "was the message."

No. 7
Nothing is black or white
When we began our series of interviews, I would often ask Mandela questions like this one: When you decided to suspend the armed struggle, was it because you realized you did not have the strength to overthrow the government or because you knew you could win over international opinion by choosing nonviolence? He would then give me a curious glance and say, "Why not both?"

. . . As a statesman, Mandela was uncommonly loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and Fidel Castro. They had helped the ANC when the U.S. still branded Mandela as a terrorist. When I asked him about Gaddafi and Castro, he suggested that Americans tend to see things in black and white, and he would upbraid me for my lack of nuance. Every problem has many causes. While he was indisputably and clearly against apartheid, the causes of apartheid were complex. They were historical, sociological and psychological. Mandela's calculus was always, What is the end that I seek, and what is the most practical way to get there?

No. 8
Quitting is leading too
Knowing how to abandon a failed idea, task or relationship is often the most difficult kind of decision a leader has to make. In many ways, Mandela's greatest legacy as President of South Africa is the way he chose to leave it. When he was elected in 1994, Mandela probably could have pressed to be President for life — and there were many who felt that in return for his years in prison, that was the least South Africa could do.

. . . In the history of Africa, there have been only a handful of democratically elected leaders who willingly stood down from office. Mandela was determined to set a precedent for all who followed him — not only in South Africa but across the rest of the continent. He would be the anti-Mugabe, the man who gave birth to his country and refused to hold it hostage. "His job was to set the course," says Ramaphosa, "not to steer the ship." He knows that leaders lead as much by what they choose not to do as what they do.

Clcik here to read the full article.
I cannot agree more with Richard Sengel's summary. . .
Ultimately, the key to understanding Mandela is those 27 years in prison. The man who walked onto Robben Island in 1964 was emotional, headstrong, easily stung. The man who emerged was balanced and disciplined. He is not and never has been introspective. I often asked him how the man who emerged from prison differed from the willful young man who had entered it. He hated this question. Finally, in exasperation one day, he said, "I came out mature."

There is nothing so rare — or so valuable — as a mature man. Happy birthday, Madiba.
__________________
http://www.izania.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6939#post6939

July 17, 2008 | 1:07 AM Comments  0 comments
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Good for Business, Good for Communities

Join us to celebrate business community diversity InBiz Networking Reception Monday, July 21, 2008 4:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Sheraton Suites Country Club Plaza 770 W. 47th Street Kansas City, MO Join local business owners as well as staff from local and state programs for minority and women-business development to celebrate our country's diverse business community. This local reception is part of our two-day convening of leaders from state government programs for minority and women-business development, 'Good for Business; Good for Communities'. Leaders from agencies in more than 20 states will be present. This local reception is part of our two-day convening of leaders from state government. Beverages (Cash Bar) and hors d'oeuvres will be provided. This event is free of charge, but please register at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=161721 Following the reception, join us for a special conference session M/WBE Procurement at the Local Level: Best Practices and Lessons Learned from Cities and States Monday, July 21, 2008 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Sheraton Suites Country Club Plaza Featured Panelists: -Deborah Chen, MWDBE Division Manager, City of Kansas City, MO -Lazone Grays, President/CEO, IBSA, Inc. -Tim Lohrentz, Program Manager, Insight Center for Community Economic Development -Angel McCormick Franks, Director, Missouri Office of Supplier and Workforce Diversity M/WBE Procurement at the Local Level: Best Practices and Lessons Learned from Cities and States. This special conference session will immediately follow the reception and will include representatives from the state of Missouri and local governments. Join colleagues at local and statewide levels to discuss best practices for local minority and women-business development. This event is free of charge, but please register at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=161721

===============================================================

Small businesses, and especially minority- and women-owned businesses (MBEs and WBEs), are key components of regional and state economic development. MBEs and WBEs create jobs; spur reinvestment in lower-income communities; are a source of tax revenue, often in cash-strapped jurisdictions; and facilitate inter-generational wealth transfers. That is why we have created InBiz, the Inclusive Business Initiative - http://www.insightcced.org/index.php/insight-communities/inbiz.

2008 Insight Center for Community Economic Development 2201 Broadway, Suite 815, Oakland, CA 94612-3024 510-251-2600 www.insightcced.org

June 28, 2008 | 9:06 AM Comments  0 comments
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Becoming a Grant Writing Consultant

Grant Writing & Nonprofit Management > Becoming a Grant Writing Consultant (online course) Good grant writing consultants are always in demand. Learn how you can use a basic knowledge of grant or proposal writing to become an expert in the red-hot grant consulting field. Your instructor, a national grant consulting veteran, will provide you with easy-to-follow instructions that you can use to start your own home-based business. You'll learn what services to offer, how to find clients, and how to set your fees. This is one field where your creative writing skills can literally touch thousands of people and make a true difference in their quality of life.

Offered is a course facilitated by a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Beverly Browning.

Dr. Beverly Browning has been writing winning grant proposals for over 20 years. She is a full-time grant writing consultant who has helped her for-profit and nonprofit clients, worldwide, to win over $100 million in grant and contract awards. Dr. Browning is a college instructor, grant writing workshop presenter, and author of nearly two dozen books, including Grant Writing For Dummies and Faith-Based Grants: Aligning Your Church to Receive Abundance. Classes start: June 18 July 16 August 20 September 17

IBSA, Inc. - Career Development 629 SE Quincy, Suite 102 Topeka, Kansas 66603-3921 (913) 240-6247 ph (785) 232-4272 msg/fax Serving Kansas, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, New York http://www.ed2go.com/ibsaonline/

Kansas City Metro Office 2052 N. 3rd Street Kansas City, Kansas 66101 (913) 371-4709 fax Serving Shawnee, Wyandotte, Leavenworth, Johnson County

http://www.ibsa-inc.org

June 21, 2008 | 12:06 PM Comments  0 comments
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SNITCHCRAFT” INCLUDED IN CURRICULUM GUIDE AT YALE NATIONAL INITIATIVE
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 15, 2008
Contact: Edrea Davis/Jazzmyne PR
Phone: 818.613.9521

URBAN FICTION TACKLES REAL ISSUES
“SNITCHCRAFT” INCLUDED IN CURRICULUM GUIDE AT YALE NATIONAL INITIATIVE

To Snitch or Not to Snitch, That is the Unanswered Question

Atlanta, GA - SnitchCraft, an urban novel by Edrea Davis, recently landed on the required reading list in a curriculum guide examining snitching at the Yale National Initiative of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.

The Introduction to Criminal Justice course, Police Investigative Challenges: To Snitch or Not to Snitch, That is the Unanswered Question, seeks to teach a comprehensive curriculum on the problems and repercussions associated with uncooperative witnesses.

SnitchCraft is required reading, the guide notes, “because it looks at the present day social phenomenon of snitching, police corruption and the use of paid confidential informants in solving crime.” The guide also points out that many students have not been introduced to crime fiction and do not realize it can help them identify issues connected to real life situations.

Legendary civil rights leader and vocal advocate for criminal justice reform, Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, praised Davis. “Edrea shrewdly weaves critical information and spiritual messages into a gripping urban story,” Lowery said. The co-founder of SCLC with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. added, “SnitchCraft provides a glimpse into the flawed snitch system, offers a historical perspective on the distrust of law enforcement, and promotes civic engagement. It’s an excellent teaching tool for inner-city youth.”

SnitchCraft (Dogon Village Books ISBN: 097869740-5) fuses hip-hop with civil rights to tell the story of a hustler-turned-nightclub owner set up by a dishonest snitch. The fictional saga juxtaposes the themes of family, spirituality, and social justice, against the backdrop of a popular Southern California nightclub battling escalating gang violence.

“I am thrilled to be on any list that includes Edgar Allen Poe,” said Davis. “But, I am most honored that someone in a program focused on developing effective teaching strategies for youth in low-income communities recognized the value of the messages embedded in SnitchCraft.”

The guide underscores the valuable “After the Book” section that offers statistics, discussion questions, and a ‘take action’ section. SnitchCraft also includes a resource list of contacts for organizations working on criminal justice reform including, The November Coalition, FAMM, Stop the Drug War, Drug Policy Alliance, and The Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda.

“I wanted to convey important information in a language that the hip-hop generation would appreciate, and also demonstrate that ‘street lit’ can be used to deliver positive messages that inspire young people,” said Davis, a communications consultant with Jazzmyne PR. “I commend the Yale National Initiative for seeking innovative approaches to teaching 21st century students,” the Englewood, NJ native adds.

SnitchCraft is available online at www.snitchcraft.com and most online book retailers, and is distributed to bookstores nationally through Ingram Book Group.

###

Contact Edrea at edmedia@dogonvillage.com or 818.613.9521

Photo Caption: Edrea Davis, author of urban novel SnitchCraft, with civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery


#########################################

Edrea Davis
Communications Strategist & Author of SnitchCraft

www.jazzmynepr.com www.snitchcraft.com

June 19, 2008 | 1:27 AM Comments  0 comments
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