Writing is a creative art. Writing for others is a commercial science, I suppose - similar to the difference between fine artist and commercial artist. Writers are always writing to some audience, but the difference is, you hire a writer to speak on your behalf to your audience. Tough assignment, because for your writer to have a shot at success, you have to not only carefully explain who your target audience is, but also the message you want to convey. Many many many people believe if they can do that much, they might as well just go ahead and write it themselves. That’s why there is so much terrible writing everywhere.

The commercial artist/designer suffers when the client ties one arm behind his back. “No black, it has to be shaped like a square and the text must be yellow in this X font…….” You don’t need an artist/designer, you need a tracing machine. Do people hire an attorney, then proceed to choose the applicable statutes for the litigation? Do you hire a doctor, then proceed to dictate what tests you will not undergo?

To work with writers, here’s some help. First this article concisely delineates the different types of writers. Then, this site explores some of the abstract difficulties of working with a writer. But, no matter who you work with, when you hire someone for his expertise, please don’t pick him or her to death - that’s a sure fire way to get crap results, even as you are torturing a fellow human. Creatives are fragile folk! Some just pretend better than others.

Over the years, I’ve named companies, magazines, campaigns and events. Love it! In the pursuit of my fascination, I find I learn a great deal from case studies of legendary logos. Here’s one fantastic example from academia. Studying the stories of diverse successful logos always sets Logo Design Works in my creative tail end.

My definition of a “successful” logo is one that has built up untold millions/billions of dollars in recognition equity and worldwide familiarity. All have a great story to tell when you learn about how they originated, how they resisted artibrary change along the way to maintain continuity, if they are modernized and how… all these things can teach valuable strategic lessons to the business owner.

Although consumers in general plan to spend less this holiday, online shopping is still growing. If you are running an e-commerce store, this is the busiest and most competitive time of the year so you should be more aggressive to increase your sales.

Although there are many Internet marketing strategies and tactics today, email marketing continues to be an effective and cost-efficient strong weapon of choice. According to Direct Marketing Association, “For every dollar spent on email marketing in 2007, marketers can expect an estimated $48.29 ROI. Without a doubt, email marketing achieves the greatest ROI of all marketing channels we look at.”

Another statistics from Shop.org shows that email delivers sales at an average cost per order of less than $7, compared to $71.89 for banner ads, $26.75 for paid search and $17.47 for affiliate programs.

Here are 2 clever ways to use email marketing this holiday season:

1. Suggest a gift. Offer gift ideas and packages specific to a person like dad, mom, friend, lover, brothers or sisters. This will make shopping a lot easier for many of your customers.
2. Offer Christmas deals. Most consumers are in the mood for shopping these days so why not offer a promo they simply can’t resist? This will encourage them to buy more in return for a small concession like incremental discounts (example: 10% for purchase above $100, 15% for above $200, etc.)

As the web becomes more and more a part of both our personal and business lives, business people and marketing professionals have turned towards web surveys to do research, plan projects, get feedback and develop new products and services. The emergence of excellent web survey applications, complete with wizards to make creation fast and simple, templates to ensure attractive designs, and full suites of reports and statistical analysis, make this method of interacting with your customers very attractive and extremely cost effective. However, as with all computer applications, the old adage “garbage in, garbage out” applies to surveys as well - if you do not know how to design an effective survey, the results will leave much to be desired.

Introductions, first

Whether on the first page of the survey, or in the cover letter inviting people to respond, it is important that you introduce the theme and purpose of the survey. This establishes in advance what types of questions you will be asking and puts the audience in the right frame of mind for answering the survey. Additionally, it helps to tell them why they were chosen, to establish understanding and trust, and assure that their input will be confidential, and personal information will not be shared.

Organize Yourself

It is important that the questions you ask fit within the theme and purpose set down in the introduction. Create an outline, when you are first planning your survey, and then subgroup the questions into logical categories.

First think about what information you want to know, and develop your questions from that. Experiment with different groupings, until each question flows from the previous, in logical order.

Give careful thought to how much you need each question - the fewer the better, because people generally do not have the time or inclination to answer long questionnaires.

Respect your Respondents

Be careful not to use jargon and buzzwords, but also avoid being too simplistic by knowing your survey audience and finding the appropriate balance. Remember that the respondent is taking time out of busy day to help you. Tell them in the introduction approximately how long it might take to complete, and let them know, as they go, how far along they are.

Carefully Craft Questions

When surveys are delivered by phone, trained surveyors usually conduct them and the respondent can get clarification without being led towards a particular answer. With self-administered surveys on the web, every question must be completely clear and understandable. Keep each question as short as possible, without losing meaning, and avoid jargon unless you are sure your audience understands it.

Be careful to ask only one thing at a time. If you have to ask additional questions on the same topic, do it as separate questions to avoid getting muddled responses. Be aware of inserting your own biases and intentions into the question, and try to keep questions neutral so that a “right answer” is not evident. The idea is to get truthful answers which go straight to the heart of the subject, and the simplest variations in a question can make this happen, or not.

Know Your Type

We are all familiar with the most common types of survey question formats - text, check boxes, yes/no, range responses - but there is a real science to knowing which type to use with which question to get the best results. For example:

* When using multiple choice answers to jog the respondent’s memory, will it create bias towards the available choices? Is that okay?
* It might seem easiest to use a Yes/No or True/False question, but be sure that these two answers are the only ones that a respondent might possibly want to use or they will be forced to choose, diluting the truth of their answer.
* When using ranges, for example “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree,” how many choices are necessary? Five is typical - but is it possible that many users will be “lazy” and chose the middle, and neutral, position?
* Before giving using text fields, known also as “free form” fields, consider how you will summarize these responses.

As you develop the survey, think about the different types and picture the results that will come from using each type. With your audience in mind, determine which type would provide the most effective results for what you need to find out. You can further refine these decisions when you test the survey, as explained later.

Protect Against Non-Response

It is unavoidable that a percentage of those surveyed are non-responders. The best way to minimize this element in the survey results is to keep the survey short and to the point, follow a clear outline with stated goals, and accurately target who the survey recipients need to be.

Believe it or not, research states that a 10-15% response rate on any survey is considered a success.

Dangle a Carrot

Even with every precaution taken, creating surveys is never an exact science because there is little control over the human element. For whatever reason, you will often scratch your head wondering why people looked at the survey and dropped out, or just never even looked. A carefully executed survey can minimize this - and incentives can take it a step further. Do you have something you can give away, to encourage folks to take your survey? Providing a free item or bit of information, providing a free copy of the results, or some other lure can go a long way towards gathering results.

Fly a Pilot

When you, yourself, develop a survey, it is easy to overlook the elements that might stop your respondents from completing the survey and wording that might not be clear. Always be sure to test the survey on a few people prior to sending it out to your entire audience. This will also allow you to review the results and see if the questions asked and the way they were answered will result in effective results.

Cut it Off

Be sure to tell your respondents when the survey will be closed. Typically, most respondents will respond within 5 days of receipt and so unless you know for sure that a significant portion of your audience needs longer, a week is a fair amount of time. Do not send out the survey on Fridays or over weekends - we all know what we do with mail received on those days! Try Tuesday morning for optimal response, and expect to see approximately 50% of your responses in the first 24 hours.

It may seem like you need a dual degree in cognitive psychology and statistics to develop an effective survey. This not being true for most of us, these guidelines will provide a foundation to improve both the survey and the results of your efforts. There is no better way to find out what your customers want than to ask them, and if they are already online, web surveys are an ideal way to do it.

Risk is an essential part of running a business. It can make your dreams come true but it can also shatter it if you are not careful. A new study shows that successful entrepreneurs are more likely to take risks.

Some 60 per cent of those with assets of more than $1 million said a high appetite for risk had been a big influence in generating their wealth, compared with 36 per cent of those with less than $1 million of assets.

Given that risk is all around us, you should learn how to take calculate your chances of survival in this game. Here are some of the things you need to consider:

1. Look before you leap. Research about the risk you are about to take and consult with experts in the field to gather more information. The more you know the better your chances of survival.
2. Have a Backup Plan. Because there are different ways to solve a problem, you should have an alternative plan in case things will go out of hand.
3. Rank the risks. If you are taking several risks, you should prioritize which one to tackle first. A good measure is to consider the consequences of each scenario and the probability of it happening. However, this is a very tricky method because it’s difficult to avoid subjective opinions.

If you think selling over the phone is easier than face-to-face selling, maybe it’s time for you to think again. Phone selling is very challenging given the high level of mistrust of many consumers and the lack of physical contact to gauge the openness of your customers. If this type of selling is vital to your business, you should consider the following tips:

1. Establish relationship in less than 10 seconds. Since you can’t convey your message with a good body language, you will have to rely entirely on your friendly tone and charming personality to forge a relationship. Make your approach more casual so your customers won’t know you’re reading a script.
2. Keep it short and sweet. Don’t bore your prospects with details by focusing on the key benefits of your product, the main message you want to tell, and some personal positive experiences from other customers.
3. Plan your calls. Segment each call if it’s a prospect, cold call, close, follow up, or existing customers. Each segment needs different approach and phone selling tactic.
4. Follow up. Don’t expect to make a sale after just one selling session. It takes time and persistence to win a customer. Remember, you’re not the only one pursuing that customer so take time to call again on the date agreed by both parties.

When starting a business, will you imitate the leading brand or do things your own way? While the latter is the typical answer, Marty Nemko of Kplinger.com says it’s better to replicate than innovate:

Being a guinea pig is so risky: Your idea or its execution could easily be flawed, or it can be so new that the public isn’t ready for it. Tivo, an unquestionable improvement over the VCR, lost hundreds of millions of dollars in its first five years as it tried to educate the public. You probably don’t have hundreds of millions of dollars and five years to wait for profitability.

Although our main goal is to differentiate our brand from competition, some situations justify the need for imitation:

1. Benchmarking or adopting best practices from another industry
2. When a particular feature, process, or service is considered a standard in your chosen industry. If these are not available then your business will not be considered at par with the leading players.

However, there are certain limits to imitation such as:

1. Using a confusingly similar brand name, logo design or colors.
2. Copying the content from your competitors’ websites, brochures, sales letters, and other marketing materials.

Some entrepreneurs are afraid to take bigger challenges because they can’t handle the idea of failing. To make matters worse, some say “no” even without even trying. In case you are in this same situation, you might want to do some attitude adjustment. Here’s how:

1. Impossible is Nothing. This famous Adidas advertising slogan is the first step towards better attitude. When faced with a difficult task, you should not give up easily. Explore your options and ask other people for advice.
2. Think big. You should start a business with the dream of becoming a big company in the long run. Combining your think-big mindset and hard work, you can take on challenging projects without fear.
3. Prepare all the time. Instead of dreaming of overnight success, start sharpening your skills and learning new ones. When the big opportunity knocks on your door, you are more than prepared to seize it.
4. Focus on your strengths. Some entrepreneurs spend their time focusing on their weaknesses until they reached a point where they can no longer appreciate their strengths. Find your key skills and learn how to use it to your advantage.

Start your week with these 8 practical small business tips and news happening around the globe. More importantly, try to integrate these new insights to help your small business succeed.

Here we go:

1. IndyStar.com says true entrepreneurs seem to have a knack not only for spotting an emerging business opportunity, but also for spotting another opportunity within that first opportunity.
2. Do you know the basic psychology of marketing? Understand the difference between needs and wants? AllBusiness.com offers an overview of marketing and how it affects your business.
3. Do you really need to learn employment law? A new study in the UK shows that 78 per cent of entrepreneurs deal unaided with employee-related paperwork. This may be from another country but I have a strong feeling the U.S. has the same trend.
4. Time to brand yourself because CareerBuilder.com says like consumer products, you have a brand as well and that is your reputation.
5. If you want to hire good employees, don’t just rely on your academic books. Why don’t you try football? Rob of Businesspundit explains what you can learn from this contact game about hiring.
6. Regardless if you are in online or offline business, do you believe we are all in the business of ideas? Small business marketing consultant Amy Biddle suggests to all small business owners that our primary business is the business of being a visionary.
7. Because many Gen-Y people don’t want to climb the corporate ladder, will they succeed as entrepreneurs? Just combine the freshness of the younger generation with the work ethic of Gen-X or boomers and they’re good to go!
8. Jamie Herzlich of newsday.com says keep customers by keeping them happy. This might appear obvious but check again for you might be missing some important points in your business.

We’re giving to you the must-read tips for entrepreneurs, so you don’t have to sort through numerous online publications and focus more on gathering new insights to help you succeed. Read our compilation for today:

1. If you are a Six Feet Under entrepreneur or interested in running your own funeral home, you may want to invest in Maryland’s funeral industry because a new court decision has opened the door for more entrepreneurs to enter the funeral business under the legal and financial advantages afforded by incorporating.

2. Looking to expand your online business? Why not try the virtual world Second Life? Read this interesting news about how entrepreneurs reap profits from this site.

3. Protecting your business data like financial statements, marketing plans, or business plans is a very important task every entrepreneur should not forget. For $10 dollars every month, At&T is offering a Remote Vault service to allow small businesses with a broadband Internet connection to remotely access, copy and store data from PCs or laptops to an AT&T Internet Data Center.

4. Visit BootStrapMe to learn some great bootstrapping suggestions from a diverse group of business leaders. One interesting suggestion is to be honest with yourself by not chasing an idea forever if you can’t pull it off.

5. Fortunately, Rhonda Abrams of Gannett News Service believes cash isn’t the only way to reward employees. Understand how you can use well days, birthdays, extra time off, and employee of the week program as meaningful tactics.