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Marketing Links

Marketing Links

Here is my personal rolodex of some of the
best marketing resources on the web

Marketing Associations

American Marketing Association – Official site of the American Marketing Association which supplies marketing professionals with the information, products and services required to succeed in their jobs and careers.

 

Business Marketing Association – Association for business-to-business marketers and communicators. Offers broad information and education resources, in addition to networking opportunities through local chapters, conferences and seminars.

 

Direct Marketing Association – The DMA is the oldest and largest trade association for users and suppliers in the direct, database and interactive marketing fields. Provides information, articles, resources, and service to direct marketing professionals.

Promotion Marketing Association – Association representing the promotion marketing industry. Good articles and teleclasses as well as local meetings in many areas.

ASPOW – Association of Solo Professionals on the Web. Resources, tools and support for coaches, consultants, freelancers and independent professionals. Monthly tele-seminars, success stories and promotional opportunities for members available.

Small Business Administration – Information about starting and marketing a small business. Official government site for small business support and services.

Useful Tools

PDF 995 – Do you have the need to create PDF files occasionally, but not often enough to justify spending hundreds of dollars on Adobe Acrobat? Give PDF 995 a try. It is a FREE alternative to Adobe Acrobat. Just download and install this software and you can select PDF output just as easily as printing a document. It will open a couple of new screens with advertising but you can just click on it to close it.

iDictate – Do you find yourself struggling with writing articles or reports? Have a book idea but can seem to sit down and start writing? Now it’s as simple as dictating your message into a telephone or recording your thoughts while you are driving. iDictate.com will transcribe your message and deliver it to you in your favorite word processing format in less than 24 hours for just 1¢ per word! “Writing” has never been easier!
You can also check out their sister company at YouDictate.com.

Google Answers – Google has “retired” this service since we first posted it here as a resource. In a nutshell, for a while Google made it easy for people to hire a researcher; for anywhere from $20 to $200 you could have hired someone to “dig for answers to your questions”. Although you can’t ask new questions, you can still access the answers others have paid to have researched in the past. Just go to Google Answers, type in a keyword or something you want to find out answers to and you’ll see what I mean.

Notebook Shop – OK, so this has nothing to do with marketing but it’s an excellent place to get you a laptop computer if you need one. I got my latest laptop from them and it’s the best purchase I made in a long time. Since they are located just minutes from where I live I actually went to their office/warehouse and I was very impressed. And even though I was only shopping for one computer they treated me like a king. Ask for Ron Weaver – I know he will take good care of you.

Hands On Help

SCORE – Service Corp of Retired Executives. A nonprofit association dedicated to encouraging the formation, growth, and success of small business nationwide through counseling and mentor programs

SiteSell.com – Not really hands on and not an article site but this is best resource available for making your web site sell. Invaluable!

Marketing Mentors – You didn’t think I would leave out my own services, did you? We bring together some of the best minds in marketing today. We provide teleclasses, seminars and educational products to help you market your services more effectively.

Business Coaching – Small Business Advisory Network – SBA Network provides small business marketing and management consulting services. This site created by a marketing consultant and a radio show host Mark Deo, is loaded with detailed instructions on starting and growing your business. Find articles on developing a working business plan, obtaining funding and financing, networking effectively, improving your selling skills and more. It will take you months to just go through this site!

Magazines and Publications

Inc. Magazine – Magazine dedicated to growing small businesses. Provides articles and resources for small business support.

Fast Company – This is “the” magazine for a generation of business leaders with high expectations for their companies — and even higher expectations for themselves. I subscribe to their printed version – if you don’t, you should. Always filled with great articles to stimulate your thinking and creativity.

Entrepreneur Magazine – Offers the start up and small business entrepreneur information, services and expert advice covering areas such as starting a business, managing a business, marketing a business, franchise, business opportunities and home based businesses. Great resource if you can put up with all the pup-ups!

Fortune Small Business Magazine – Small business online magazine featuring articles, tips, and expert advice in the areas of small business finance, marketing, operations, and small business case studies.

Online Resource Centers

MarketingProfs – Educational marketing articles written by Professors and Professionals. This is a wealth of information on all sorts of marketing topics. Make sure you sign up for their weekly ezine.

Small Business Wizards – Free tools, resources and hundreds of articles with money saving tips on marketing your home based or small business. Focuses on internet marketing. 

Publicity Insider – Bill Stoller’s Publicity Insider website provides helpful sections on frequently asked PR questions, how-to PR tips, and a free newsletter providing PR tactics.

PRLeads – Want to get publicity with having your name and articles in magazines, radio and TV shows. This site is a paid service that provides PR leads to experts in different industries.

IdeaCafe – Ideas and information about planning, financing, starting, and running a small business. Lots of articles and links to even more marketing resources 

Idea Site for Business – Great advice for overly creative business people jumping from one marketing strategy to another. Also a useful tool to test your marketing ideas before you spend a fortune implementing them.

MoreBusiness – Collection of sample business plans, contracts and marketing plans. It’s geared towards a business that’s just starting but you can find lots of good information here.

bCentral Small Business Solutions Center – Small business resources including articles, tools, Microsoft ecommerce support services.

Guru.com – Resource for independent professionals. Find contract work and projects, online jobs, consulting, hiring and employment resources and health benefits, legal advice and business management tools for independent contractors

The Entrepreneurs’ Help Page – Distributes basic information on legal, financial, and management issues that commonly affect (or afflict!) people who are just starting up their businesses.

The Entrepreneurial Parent – A community and resource for parents who are self employed. Learn how to balance work and family under one roof — build your career skills, run a successful home business, take care of your children.

Power Home Biz Guides – An online magazine offering a wide-range of information and tools for running a home based businesses.

KnowThis.com – Knowledge source for market research, marketing plans, internet marketing and much more.

Web Pages That Suck – A lot of great ideas on what works and what doesn’t on web sites. Plus, you will get a good laugh out of some of the examples.

Home Based Business Opportunities – Home based business opportunity web site lists businesses you can purchase. Check out their resource section – it’s great! Warning; you can spend hours there!

Work at Home Business Ideas, Jobs and Opportunities
Work from Home business community features tools, services, marketing tips and articles for your home based business. Information Community where you can review, vote, discuss and submit articles.

Ultimate Self Growth Resource -SelfGrowth.com
This is the most complete guide to information about Self Improvement, Personal Growth and Self Help on the Internet. It is designed to be an organized directory, with articles and references to thousands of other Web Sites on the World Wide Web.

Marketing Gurus

Wilson Web – This guy must be writing all the time. There is a ton of articles, ebooks and links about Internet marketing available here.

Mr. Fire (Joe Vitale) – I love his “hypnotic marketing” ideas. You will find lot’s of great articles, books and tapes here.

Jay Abraham – Jay is an icon in a marketing industry. His thinking and strategies started an entire new population of marketing consultants and experts. This page contains several of his articles. Definitely consider his courses – expensive but worth every penny plus more.