Domain names for sale

We have the following domain names for sale at the moment on behalf of clients:

• www.notallmenarethesame.com
  
• www.itsokifyoudontgetcaught.com
  
• www.aimforsuccess.biz                                    

These domain names are available to buy through Sedo at $550USD each - go to www.sedo.co.uk, enter the domain name as above and follow the prompts. It costs you nothing to buy a domain name at Sedo, and Sedo will do all the transfers necessary to get the domain into your name.

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Sabrina Ferguson
www.arionproductions.com.au

Watch your TLAs and FLAs if you want to achieve a PB!

As I write this, the Olympic Games are in full swing. Has anyone else noticed the proliferation of acronyms in the sporting world? Swimming commentators chat happily about the IM; think quickly, what do they mean? Individual Medley, for the unaware. Not to mention the Personal Bests (PBs) achieved by athletes on an incredibly regular basis.

So, how many Two or Three Letter Acronyms (TLAs) or Four Letter Acronyms (FLAs) do YOU use in your business or industry? And does your marketing material spell out clearly what these acronyms mean?

There's a golden rule when you wish to use acronyms. The first time you use the term in your publication, use it in full and put the acronym immediately afterwards in brackets. From then on, in that particular document, you can use the acronym. I strongly suggest adhering to this for all your marketing material. Don't assume that because someone has seen your website or read your overall corporate brochure that you can immediately launch into acronyms without explanation in more tactical material such as product brochures. Cater for the lowest common denominator!

There are, of course, exceptions. It's fine to use NSW for New South Wales. HR is in common use for Human Resources, too, for example, CD for Compact Disc, DVD for Digital Versatile Disc. However, when you are using acronyms specific to your company or industry, don't assume automatically that your audience knows what you mean.

And a final bit of advice. If you want to use an acronym in the plural, eg DVDs, you don't use a possessive apostrophe. (More on apostrophes and their care and feeding another time!)

Sabrina Ferguson

www.arionproductions.com.au

Don't cut yourself off from half your market

Last week I went to the inaugural meeting of a local women's business networking group. There was a genuinely positive atmosphere, women worked the room exchanging business cards and all in all it was an enjoyable if not productive two hours. The women in the group represented a broad range of industries; many of them like me owned a SME.

One thing that really came across as I spoke to others was that many women craved a women's only networking group as they preferred to deal with women rather than men. I guess we all like our own kind, and there's nothing wrong with that.

For one of two of those women they were just starting out with their own business and this was their first ever networking event. A very friendly way to start, BUT... I'd hate to think it's the only type of networking event these women will attend.

By concentrating on only one gender in your networking activities, you are cutting yourself off from 50% of your market. Even if you're selling skincare or lingerie and women's clothing, there is still a market there in the male gender. Men have partners, mothers, sisters, daughters...

Do make sure you spread yourself around in your business networking activities. Meet a cross-section of both genders. Even if the people you meet don't need your products or services right now, they may know somebody who does. And because they've met you and got to know you, they can refer you to their colleagues with trust and confidence.

Look at what is available in terms of networking activities in your local area. Join your local Chamber of Commerce or at least go to one of their meetings and see if your line of business is not already represented there. Don't rely on only one networking group to build your contacts. In terms of increasing your networks, a gender-only group can provide you with contacts and keep you within your comfort zone. But it shouldn't be the only one.

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Sabrina Ferguson
www.arionproductions.com.au

One bad Apple... but iRepo to the rescue!

I recently made the move from Windows to Mac. Personally I have no desire to use Windows Vista, and I'm just a bit tired of Microsoft telling us what we can and can't do (I'd rather Apple told me!). To cut a long and sad story short, the MacBook Pro I leased at the end of March had a series of problems, so many in fact that last week Apple replaced it with a new one. Macs are usually extremely reliable - I used to be a Mac person in the 90s - and both the Apple Customer Service person and I were stunned at the way this one misbehaved. Three I/O boards had to be replaced over a six week period. Luckily I still had my ageing Windows machine to work on while all this was being sorted.

As Mac #1 died its death I tried to back up all my work onto an external hard drive, and thought I'd succeeded before the I/O board had another conniption. It turns out I missed a few bits and pieces. Most of these can be retrieved from the Windows machine but quite annoyingly all my iTunes music had gone. I'd deregistered my iPod from the Windows machine and registered it with the faulty Mac. A few GB of music hadn't been backed up when the Mac failed. iTunes was now empty on the Windows PC and the new Mac, and I had a full iPod and was staring the reality of erasing it in the face. Not nice. It would take hours to copy my music CDs to iTunes again, apart from which I'd downloaded some albums from the iTunes store and didn't want to lose them either.

Well. A bit of hunting around told me there WERE ways you could transfer music back from your iPod to iTunes. It was a little convoluted, but doable. Then I found a site which sold software made for people like me who'd lost the lot in a crash. iPodsoft.com has a fantastic little piece of software you can buy for a measly sum which enables you to transfer from your iPod to your hard drive and iTunes at the same time, VERY VERY EASILY.  This little marvel is called iRepo. What's extra nice is that you can plug someone else's iPod into your machine and grab what songs you'd like of theirs too without erasing their iPod or having to register it to your machine etc. I don't encourage people to go breaking copyright laws left right and centre, but this does get around the annoying aspect of iTunes and iPod - the one way street that only allows you to upload to your iPod and not vice versa. 

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Sabrina Ferguson
www.arionproductions.com.au

Networking - because word of mouth WORKS.

If you're reading this it's likely you own your own business and you may well be considering using my company to do some work for you. It's also likely you've been referred here by another of my clients. 

Most of my business comes from referrals - and I don't belong to one of those networking groups which insists on weekly breakfasts and three referrals a week. (They're personally not my scene but they do appeal to other people.) I DO belong to Ryde Business Forum and I'm proud of my association with them. When I started my business I had one client. Through my membership and marketing work with RBF I now have enough to keep me going full time and scratch my head wondering when I can find time for a holiday. Wouldn't everyone like to have that problem?

Local networking really works. It can be difficult at first meeting new people and gaining their trust - and them gaining yours. But it can be the biggest boon your company will ever have, particularly if you are a service industry. Local Chambers of Commerce - and umbrella organisations like RBF - typically look within their member base for people to work with; after all that's one of the reasons they join (another, obviously, is that people will want to work with THEM, too!). 

It's likely you'll find a dynamic networking group in your area, and I do suggest that if you are an SME owner you join it. It could be a Chamber of Commerce, it could be a weekly networking group or a less informal group. The main thing is that it will get you in touch with other business people; you'll find partnerships you didn't know existed, opportunities that weren't there last week. For smaller organisations the cost of membership is fairly minimal. It's actually an excellent investment in your company's future, particularly if you're a new company and want to get known in the area. 

Local media usually belong to Chambers so there's an opportunity too for media coverage for your company - and if you're in the environmental game...well, green is the new black! But that's another blog in its own right. 

There's never been a better time to extend your network than now. While internet networks are booming - you can read for yourself on the net how Facebook is bringing people and business together - nothing can match face to face contact, a casual chat at a networking function, the reality of human interaction. And this is from me, someone who is happiest tapping away by herself. Local networks can turn your business around. Try it and see.

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Sabrina Ferguson
www.arionproductions.com.au

Wired for sound

One of the jobs I'm doing this week is helping out a friend with a personal Flash animation. Specific sounds are important on this one, and as my friend doesn't have a huge budget it was important to find a good library of free and royalty-free sounds.

I found this one:
There are thousands of free sound effects at PartnersInRhyme.com

It's an excellent resource for sound effects of all types. I downloaded what I needed in a couple of quick clicks, but it's very tempting to spend a bit more time there exploring.

If you ARE going to use sound on your website, be mindful of your visitors. I've visited many personal and animal breeder sites over the years which insist on playing songs each time you load the page or go to a new one. This can be irritating and in an office environment sometimes embarrassing. Give your visitors a button to push to stop the music or sound - you DO want them to be happy to return to your site!

Repeating sounds effects can be annoying, too. Use them wisely. And only once.
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Sabrina Ferguson
www.arionproductions.com.au

Go green with your print work

The printers we use now have a superb service using 100% recycled paper. This is great news for clients of mine who'd prefer to use the recycled option.

When you order a job using recycled paper, remember that recycled stock is often more absorbent than standard stocks, and colour variation will occur.

Recycled paper is often unbleached, too - a good thing if the reason you want to use recycled is to help the environment. This will also affect the way colours print.

The recycled stock offered by my printer is not a bright, bleached white and complies to ISO 14001. It's perfect for flyers, invitations and other jobs up to A4 in size which don't require a gloss finish.

Go to my website for my contact details if you'd like to know more. The link is a graphic at the top of this page.
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Sabrina Ferguson
www.arionproductions.com.au