Greg Magnus

Congressman Eric Cantor (VA-07) & the U.S. Small Business Administration are presenting a workshop to help small businesses. How to gain access to less expensive loans is on the workshop agenda:

Helping Virginia Small Businesses Survive the Economic Downturn

This workshop will provide information to Virginia small businesses about:

• Less expensive and more accessible small business loans.
• Recent changes to tax rules affecting small businesses.
• Counseling and Training resources through SBA resource partners
• Recession-proofing your credit

When: April 29, 2009
Time: 10:00 a.m. to Noon
4201 Dominion Boulevard
Richmond, VA

To Register, call Ford Scott at (804) 771-2400, Ext. 153 or email: ford.scott@sba.gov

The U.S. Small Business Administration and its nationwide network of partners help millions of potential and current small business owners start, grow and succeed. Resources and programs targeting small businesses provide an advantage necessary to help small businesses effectively compete in the marketplace and strengthen the overall U.S. economy. SBA offers help in the following areas:

• Starting a Business
• Financing a Business
• Growing a Business
• Opportunities in Contracting
• Recovering From Disaster
• A Voice for Small Business in Government

Additional information as well as business news and training for entrepreneurs is available online at www.sba.gov or visit the Richmond, VA District office at:
400 N. 8th Street, Suite 1150, Richmond, VA 23219,
Phone: (804) 771-2400, Website: www.sba.gov/localresources/district/va 

Also, SCORE offers free advice to small business owners and entrepreneurs.
For marketing articles posted by Greg Magnus, visit SCORE’s Ask an Expert Blog or the national SCORE website.

As it turns out, there are some words that energize the reader, boost his or her confidence and instill hope. Great copy writers know that the right words invoke emotion and certain words definitely work better than others. That’s why experienced copy writers often keep a list of great words by their side when writing. Using the right words is especially important for your marketing copy when you intend to create a call to action. Just spend five minutes watching TV commercials and you’ll be inundated with words that invoke emotion. It is a common technique marketing professionals have used for years. And make no mistake, you too can use the technique for your blog content, articles and landing pages.

Earlier today I read a great article by Brian Clark on copy writing that I’d like to share with you. Here’s how Brian started the article,

Mark Twain said the difference between the right word and the almost right word is “the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” Twain had an incredible knack for nicely summing it all up, didn’t he? The value of your content and/or your offer is what ultimately matters. And yet the words you use to demonstrate that value and present that offer will determine to what degree people take action. [Here's the link to , "50 Trigger Words and Phrases for Powerful Multimedia Content" by Brian Clark.]

Here’s a few words on my list intended to keep the reader’s attention:

• And in addition to that..
• And remember,
• As it turn out,
• But better yet…
• Make no mistake,
• Not many people know it but,
• Oddly enough,
• On the other hand,
• One more thing,
• Reality is…
• Simply stated
• So let me ask you…
• That’s why…
• Then again
• Trouble is,
• Seriously,
• What does all this mean to you? Better copy writing – enjoy!

SBA Warns of Fraudulent Attempts to Obtain Bank Account Information from Small Businesses

AIM Custom Media News: Small Business Association – SBA/Feb. 18, 2009/Press Release/WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration issued a scam alert today to small businesses, warning them not to respond to letters falsely claiming to have been sent by the SBA asking for bank account information in order to qualify them for federal tax rebates.

The fraudulent letters were sent out with what appears to be an SBA letterhead to small businesses across the country, advising recipients that they may be eligible for a tax rebate under the Economic Stimulus Act, and that SBA is assessing their eligibility for such a rebate. The letter asks the small business to provide the name of its bank and account number.

These letters have not been sent by or authorized by the SBA, and all small businesses are strongly advised not to respond to them.

The scheme is similar in many ways to e-mail scams often referred to as “phishing” that seek personal data and financial account information that enables another party to access and individual’s bank accounts or to engage in identity theft.

The SBA is working with the SBA Office of Inspector General to investigate this matter. The Office of Inspector General asks that anyone who receives such a letter report it to the OIG Fraud Line at 1 (800) 767-0385, or e-mail at OIGHotline@sba.gov.

You can also visit the U.S. Small Business Administration website for more info.

Website Trends & Tips

1. What we think of as a website has changed. Long gone are “static” brochure like websites with infrequently updated content; replaced by dynamic, automated marketing machines.
   • Read more at Aliza Sherman’s blog, Are Web Sites Obsolete Yet?
   • Static verses Dynamic websites: Website Essentials for Small Business Owners
   • Here’s an article we wrote in March 2006; Are blogs replacing websites?
2. Simple Search Engine Optimization (SEO), visit SCORE’s new “Ask an Expert Blog” that covers a variety of topics of interest to entrepreneurs and business owners. Five volunteer business professionals, including yours truly, publish content on the site. We cover interactive marketing topics and our content is posted every Friday.
3. Business.com: Guide to finding time to blog, when it’s not your day job
4. Social Media Marketing graph by our friends, MarketingSherpa

Metro Richmond – Local Briefing

1. Virginia’s unemployment rate reached 5.2 percent (Dec. 2008) – better than the national average, which is 7.1 percent: see Virginia Business story here.
3. Richmond group hopes to buy a franchise that belongs to the Class AA Eastern League, the Connecticut Defenders, and move it to Richmond: AA Team – Richmond Times Dispatch