As published on Sept. 3, 1998

Tell it like it is

If you're not going to hustle and tell people about your business -- excitedly -- then who is? Part of the beauty of being on the Web, is that conversations and attitudes are more relaxed, people are looking for information and value your help, and it's fast and easy.

Because of all these things, the Web is also a very busy place, with a lot of sites to offer. That's why you've got to "take the reins" and do a little self-promoting of your business and Web ad on Small-Business Showcase Internet PowerPages.

Although the tone may initially scare you off, "Secrets of shameless self-promotion" contains some great information about breaking out of the mold and grabbing some attention for your business. The ideas are as simple and elegant as paying attention to your tone in written communications and answering e-mail messages promptly. Check out the full story, if only for the laughs!

That's my name, don't wear it out

When you became a member of the Small-Business Showcase, you automatically were given a Web address -- also called a URL -- that includes the Small-Business Showcase Web location, your state abbreviation, your business name in some form, followed with "'dot' com." There are some "slashes" involved and a couple of "dots," so some people love the way we do this, some people don't.

To keep everyone happy, Small-Business Showcase offers domain name research and registration for a low fee, chargeable to your credit card! This means, we'll do all the legwork -- or keyboard work, as it were -- and help you register an available URL such as "http://www.mycompany.com" or whatever you have your heart set on.

Creating and using your own domain name gives the impression that your company is large and is advancing with technology. It also may be a bit easier for your prospective and returning clients to remember a shorter address, and it's possible that your search engine ranking will improve.

For complete information, please call Customer Service at 1-800-492-0994.

Are you 'wowed' by your ad?

Take a look at your PowerPages ad with a critical eye; pretend you've never seen it before and you know nothing about what your business does -- are you impressed? Are you "wowed" by your ad? Well ... you should be, a well-written and organized ad should draw your prospective customers in; they should want more information and want it now.

Not everyone considers themself a writer -- and there are many people on the Web that really shouldn't consider themselves writers, but that's a whole 'nother story. Anyway, if you feel your writing isn't your strong point, ask a friend to help you jazz up the wording of your ad.

Think about how you can excite your viewers about what you do:

• Why is your company the best?
• What do you do better than anyone else?
• Why should someone pick your business over a competitor's?

After all, you've got at least 10 bullet points and two paragraphs available to you! Give viewers your best pitch!

For help in simplifying and clarifying your message, read "Writing for the Web: Make me immortal with a K.I.S.S.!"

Some of the advice offered is:

1. Be concise
2. Be friendly
3. Make it easy on the eyes
4. Proofread thoroughly

With a little polish, your ad should shine out on the Web!

Stay right where you are

We know, we know, there are statistics to prove every case, but we found someone else proving our case for us ... "USA Today"! By being a member of the Small-Business Showcase, your business is exactly where it should be -- on the Internet!

The national online and print publication recently reported results of a survey by Nielsen Media Research and CommerceNet. The survey concludes more than a third of adults in the United States surf the Internet -- that means 70.5 million adult Americans have the access necessary to find your PowerPages Web ad and the number is growing all the time!

For complete survey information, read the whole story.

Sites to see for Labor Day

Labor Day is nearly here and besides being cause for a long weekend, it also signals the sad end of summer for some -- although from others we hear "hallelujah, it's fall!" Whether you're having a last "hurrah" for summer or you're already thinking about Halloween, we've got what you need in the Small-Business Showcase!

We did a special Labor Day search for this e-newsletter using some "long weekend" and "end-of-the-season-projects" keywords -- camping, travel, picnic, organizing, cleaning and, of course, America -- and here's what we found in the Small-Business Showcase: camping, 29 successful matches; travel, 101 successful matches; picnic, 12 successful matches; organizing, 4 successful matches; cleaning, 242 successful matches; and America, 95 successful matches. Now, for Halloween we found ... oh wait, not yet!

Remember to support your fellow Showcasers and search the SBShow database when you're in the market for something!