Archive for August, 2011

Lean Marketing tips: not-for-profit edition

Mike | August 29th, 2011

Like small businesses, most not-for-profits have limited resources, ambitious goals, and finite capacity. Many NFPs operate in ways that would not be considered ‘business-like,’ AND these organizations, like their small, for-profit cousins, can benefit by leveraging the ideas and tools that we often discuss in the Lean Marketing series. Here are 8 tips for not-for-profit [...]

Read full post »

Twitter Link Roundup #99 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Ross | August 26th, 2011

Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and [...]

Read full post »

Small Business Spotlight of the Week: Roll Rangler

Amanda | August 25th, 2011

Once upon a time, it was a beautiful, sunny, summer afternoon and I was driving on the highway somewhere in Wisconsin. And then tragedy struck: a water bottle slid underneath the brake pedal. You might think the highway is the ideal circumstance for this to happen. But, anyone who knows anything about Wisconsin highways during [...]

Read full post »

Marketing 101: channel management and the digital domain

Mike | August 22nd, 2011

A marketing channel can be defined as a system used to make goods, services, or concepts available for consumption. The very best businesses are adept at managing their marketing channels and can effectively transmit goods and services from the points of conception, extraction, or production to their customer and can gain significant competitive advantage in the process. [...]

Read full post »

Twitter Link Roundup #98 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Ross | August 19th, 2011

Read full post »

Small Business Spotlight of the Week: EpicThrills

Amanda | August 18th, 2011

I have a friend who subscribes to the belief that every experience you have in life is a “story for your storybook.” It’s become a kind of mantra in our group of friends, used in jest and in all seriousness. To credit Rob, though, it can be a pretty powerful reminder to be constantly seeking [...]

Read full post »

12 Questions: Meet Grace Conlon (USA)

Audree | August 17th, 2011

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build [...]

Read full post »

5 Tips To Get Your Small Business Online

Ross | August 17th, 2011

Last year, only 50% of all small business in the United States had a website. When 2011 began, 64 percent of small businesses reported having a website, but that still left an astounding 36 percent of small businesses without a web presence. Do all small businesses need to have a website? Perhaps not – but [...]

Read full post »

Small business and startup tips: 5 traps of business branding

Mike | August 15th, 2011

Several weeks ago I wrote a post on branding a business in tough competitive environments. I discussed the importance of defining a frame of reference, leveraging points of parity, and articulating your brand’s points of differentiation. Today I want to talk about some of the pitfalls a business can become victim to when establishing a [...]

Read full post »