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Here is a short list of CPM Networks (the cost, per 1000 people reached, of buying advertising space in a given media vehicle). You can register with these advertising companies and submit your banner ads, text ads and other forms of online ads. Once you are registered they will manage the placement and rotation of your ads on their network sites. You pay some sort of fee for the number of times your online ad is displayed.

Ad Brite - www.adbrite.com

Ad Sational - www.adsational.com

Blue Lithium - www.bluelithium.com

Mamma Media Solutions - www.mammamediasolutions.com

Tribal Fusion - www.tribalfusion.com

Flat Fee Spectrum - www.flatfeespectrum.com

Burst Media - www.burstmedia.com

Double Click - www.doubleclick.net

The Ad Stop - www.theadstop.com

Hyper Bidder - www.hyperbidder.com

Prad Network - www.pradnetwork.com

Value Click Media - www.valueclickmedia.com

Ad Jungle - www.adjungle.com

Clay McDaniel, principal and co-founder of Spring Creek Group, a social-media marketing firm in Seattle recently listed the 13 Essential Social-Media ‘Listening Tools’ to help you monitor the online chatter about your brand:

Google Alerts

Technorati

Jodange

Trendrr

Lexicon

Monitter

Tweetburner

Twendz

TruCast

Radian6

Cision

Techrigy

Collective Intellect

Microsoft launched the Beta version of it’s new search engine - Bing. Steve Ballmer officially revealed the the new search engine,during the D7 conference. In addition, Microsoft has unveiled their new Bing Community site (bing.com/community). Microsoft has high hopes that their community will “engage, educate and excite you”. Time will tell…

Check out Bing

Learn how to be fun and productive at the workplace - and enjoy waking up everyday.

The folks at weLEAD Online Magazine share with us the thirty one ways to have fun at work.

Thirty-One Ways to Have Fun at Work

1. Mini Golf in the office
2. Have joy breaks. Stock the staff room with “fun” toys (Silly putty, Building blocks, Frisbees, Slinky)
3. Create a humorous company salute
4. Print fun greeting cards for employees to give to customers
5. Charge late employees a small fine like $5, which goes to fun activities
6. Plan office parties
7. Wear fun clothes
8. Have “Fun Awards”
9. Pass out chocolate or homemade cookies
10. Give Christmas gifts to employees
11. Celebrate the seasons (Valentine cards, Hanukkah gifts, Christmas Carols, April Fools Jokes, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter egg hunt)
12. Have a theme day. Encourage staff to dress up
13. Have a masseuse provide shoulder massages for people at their workstations
14. Wash all employees’ cars in the parking lot
15. Create and distribute fun stories from within the organization
16. Charades
17. Name rooms in your department after staff members
18. Have employees bring photos of their children to work
19. Photos of staff events
20. Artwork
21. Have an employee fun day
22. Bring creative orientations to the business (i.e.- A Scavenger Hunt)
23. Play office Jeopardy or Bingo
24. Invent contests
25. Bring Nerf balls, foam darts, a basketball hoop
26. Keep a plastic bowling set
27. Create a Fun List
28. Offer relay Races
29. Stage marshmallow fights
30. Have a fun pass (this person is eligible to have fun by fill in activity)
31. Make “Stop Being so Serious” awards

Read Creating a Fun Workplace When Hokey Pokey is “What’s it All About” by By Jody Urquhart

Outsource Your Way to Success

Have you ever considered the benefits of outsourcing?

At first, I was a non-believer but now we use outsourcing for almost everything with great results. If you have not looked into it yet - do yourself a favor and start by reading this article in Business Week which will help answer questions like; How much does outsourcing really cost? What is a “virtual assistant” and how can I hire one?

The article is chock full of resources and case studies. Read the entire article here.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a proposal in the next 30 days that the so-called uptick rule be reinstated. This is another attempt at regulators to beef up the market.

News Articles about the Uptick Rule

Bloomberg - SEC May Weigh Reviving Uptick Rule to Bolster Markets

CNBC - Uptick Rule on Shorting Stocks Expected to Be Restored

Wikipedia - Uptick Rule

The Knack, by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham (both columnists for Inc Magazine) is a gift to any entrepreneur. The books is filled with pearls of wisdom about “real companies facing real challenges”. The basic premise of the book is that there is no magic formula or step by step process for running your own business rather, “there’s a mentality that helps street-smart entrepreneurs solve problems and pursue opportunities as they arise. Brodsky calls this mentality “the knack“.

From the books website…

Among the morsels of business wisdom you will find here:

Numbers run a business. - If you don’t know how to read them, you’re flying blind.—Start tracking them by hand as soon as you launch your business.

A sale isn’t a sale until you collect. - A receivable is like a loan. Make sure your customers are credit-worthy.

When your short-term liabilities exceed your short-term assets, you’re bankrupt. - Keep track of how much you’re going to collect and spend in the next twelve months.

Forget about shortcuts. Run a business as if it’s forever. - In the long run, your shortcuts will prove to be detours on the road to achieving your goals.

Cash is hard to get and easy to spend. - Make it before you spend it.

You have no friends in business, only associates. - You can laugh and cry with your employees, but neither you nor they should forget that it’s a business relationship.

Gross margin is the most important number on the income statement. - Don’t make the mistake of focusing on the top line.

Identify your true competitors, and treat them with respect. - Their opinion of you will play a critical role in determining your reputation.

Culture drives a company. - The boss’s most important job is to define and enforce it.

The life plan has to come before the business plan. - You need to figure out where you want to go before deciding how to get there.

The book is well worth the time spent reading it. Go pick up a copy of: The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up

Has anyone used Cardbrowser before? I am exploring some lead generation options for one of my clients.

From the Cardbrowser website…

“CardBrowser is an online searchable database containing the business cards from 150,000 C-level, sales, pre-sales engineering, business development, marketing, and product management professionals who have exhibited at a high-tech industry tradeshow or conference. Our global network of consultants attends events in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and collects business cards for you.”

Share your thoughts about Cardbrowser or other lead generation solutions…

Google recently released a small pamphlet and sent it along to it’s customers (maybe prospects as well). The title of the 3-4 page direct mail piece was “Top Tactics for Tough Times“.

The opening mantra is:

Marketing is more important than ever.

and

Consumers will look online more.

As most business owners are keeping a close eye on their bottom line it was nice to see Google making some relevant suggestions (even if it was a marketing piece to spend more with Google Adwords). Here are the top nuggets for all you Google Advertisers…

Focus your ads on low prices and savings.

Use value-related keywords.

Ensure your ad groups are targeted and relevant.

Don’t waste money on irrelevant clicks.

Make it easy for customers to buy.

Focus your money on your high performers.

You would be surprised how useful these tactics are for Google Adwords users. You can read the full article here.

You have to check out one of my favorite sales resources at: www.justsell.com.

The site is run by Sam Parker - the beauty of the site (in my opinion) is it’s simplicity and focus. As an example, just submitted today in their January Newsletter - “2009’s top three fundamentals” focuses on the three things you need to continue to do in 2009’s tough economic times.

Relentless focus on talking with prospects - selling is a “contact” sport.

Prepare and be able to communicate the top reasons someone should buy from you.

Be ready and able to respond to prospects/customers top three objections.

Simple stuff - yes! But very powerful. Do yourself a favor visit the justsell.com website and focus on the fundamentals.