How many times have you had a meeting with someone who has made direct eye contact only 50 percent of the time?   

Everyone is guilty of this at some point.

Body language is a great indicator of how a person feels about a conversation. Frowns and furrowed eyebrows can make the speaker feel as though his  message isn’t getting across or is being disagreed with. This isn’t always the case. Many times the nonverbal cues could be misinterpreted by the speaker.

Avoid body language that may discourage the person speaking with you. Make direct eye contact, keep a neutral facial expression, and give nonverbal cues, conveying that you understand what the speaker is saying, such as nodding with understanding.  

Also, be aware of proper personal space. In America, a business conversation should happen about four to twelve feet apart. This space differs from country to country, so if you are planning to attend a business meeting with foreigners, it would be beneficial to observe their speaking distance before the actual meeting.

Want more small business marketing advice? Subscribe to Your Business Marketing Solution, a bimonthly ezine filled with marketing tips and informative articles.

The act of selling, persuading, and buying products and services is always driven by some form of communication. Most businesses would cease to exist without successful communication.

One of the most commonly used forms of communication is oral, either face-to-face or via telephone.

It’s more effective if done face-to-face because you are notice the receiver’s facial expressions, eye contact, and body language. These cues can help you understand if the receiver is picking up on the things you are saying.

Sometimes this can be deceptive.

How many times have you acted as if you were listening to someone? If your mind is somewhere else during a conversation, you may miss most of the message.

As a small business owner, it is extremely important to be an active listener and teach yourself to tune out other things going on in your mind during a conversation. And after a conversation, write down the most important details if you think you won’t remember.  

Overworked? Not enough time to finish your daily, weekly, monthly to-do list? The solution is to outsource some of your work. It’ll save you time, money, and stress.   

Three ways to outsource your work:  

1. Ghostwriters are specialist who take ideas and put them on paper. Hire a ghostwriter to write letters, articles, ebooks, ezines, and the list goes on. Want to know more about ghostwriters? Check out a previous blog from Copy Doodle. 

2. Copywriters have the talent and the knowledge to phrase web copy, articles, ezines, etc. in order to reach your target market. Writing SEO and organic web copy is an important talent copywriters perform because the right web copy can bring your website a major increase in traffic.

3. Editors are a vital element for all small businesses. Nothing looks worse than grammar and spelling errors on marketing materials . . . write? That’s a joke, but see what I mean? Why risk turning off potential customers and having a word spelled wrong?

Subscribe to Your Business Marketing Solution, a bimonthly ezine filled with marketing tips, market trends, and informative articles.

When’s the last time you took a vacation sans cell phone, email, and paperwork? Spent time with friends and family—really spent time with them, being present in the now—without worrying about work, deadlines, or your to-do list? Whether it’s been four years or five months, do yourself and your business a favor and take a relaxing vacation. 

Everyone needs time for himself / herself. Business owners included. Stepping away from daily operations often allows a fresh perspective on your business. There’s nothing like a vacation to bring back the creative juices that once flowed—before the stress and agony reached its peak.

But it isn’t always as easy as picking a date and booking a flight.

Instead of asking, “What’s the worst that can happen if I go?” ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen if I don’t go?”

Here are a few tips to make your time away less stressful on you, your staff, and your customers:

• Contact clients in advance and advise the people who contact you on a daily basis that you will be out of town for personal reasons.
• If you absolutely cannot leave your BlackBerry behind, notify customers you will be away and appoint someone you trust to take care of small things that may arise during that week. Then, if the secretary or employee can’t manage the task, he / she can contact you wherever you may be. Therefore, you will have the power to manage the situation. (Ahh. Feel better?)
• Book your vacation in advance. Notice of three to six months allows ample time to forewarn people of your departure. It will also give them the opportunity to work around your schedule.

This excerpt is taken from my bimonthly newsletter, Your Marketing Solution. Discover simple marketing strategies that will increase your income and boost your business. 

Subscribe to Your Business Marketing Solution, a bimonthly ezine filled with marketing tips, market trends, and informative articles.  

Selling products and services online can be a tricky task. Don’t shy away from it though because it could be the most effective way to sell your products, doubling and even tripling sales.  

Websites with effective web copy will bring these people into their sites from search engines, increasing traffic. Once potential consumers are at a site, their attention must be grabbed immediately with the words, also known as web copy. These words can persuade a viewer to make a purchase from your site, subscribe to a newsletter, subscribe to an RSS feed, and or bookmark your site.

The harsh truth is, if a customer’s attention is not grabbed within the first few seconds of viewing a site, he or she is on to the next one that will keep his / her attention and evoke a response.

Web copy is also important in promoting navigation through the site. Your goal is to have the viewer click on certain links, such as contact information, newsletter subscriptions, and the company’s blog. You need to have well-written web copy to motivate viewers to further investigate your site.If your company isn’t getting the traffic you need to further your business, then it would be a good idea for you to hire a copywriter. Many freelance copywriters who specialize in web copy. Copywriters investigate the most beneficial ways of marketing your company and design web copy to reach the right target market, pushing more traffic to your site.

I’m back from my move and the holiday and ready to get back to blogging on a regular basis. I didn’t anticipate being away from my blog for this long, but life happens. Despite the heat and humidity, the move went well. My dog Mama Mia and I are settled into our new place and loving it.

Hope all of you Copydoodle readers had a safe, fun 4th.