How difficult it is to start a blog or a Twitter account? Well, “starting” is never terribly difficult, but keeping consistent with your writing and updating can be. However, it’s possible to lessen some of the stress and strain by understanding, then utilizing, what can be termed “Created Content” versus “Generated Content.”

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Tags: Blog, Blogosphere, Online Communities, Rule of thumb, Social Media, Social network, Twitter, Writer

So, if you’re starting an online business, no doubt someone…somewhere…has mentioned “SSL”. It may have been in a casual, inquisitive manner, or it may have been a more frantic “you got a SSL certificate, right? Oh…you HAVE to get a SSl certificate or all of your customer data will be stolen!”

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Tags: ecommerce security, Encryption, Extended Validation Certificate, extended validation certificates, security, shared ssl, SSL, website security

If you’re one to follow technology news, as I do, you’d probably notice that “mobile” pretty much dominates the chatter these days. Thanks to the iPhone, of course, first introduced in 2007, we’ve all witnessed an ever-increasing craze for mobile gadgetry, which can be explained by both innovation in smartphone technology and its head-on collision with our other tech obsession: social media—or, more specifically, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and location-based services, such as FourSquare, which all thrive on mobile platforms.

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Tags: Android, app, IPad, iPhone, mobile, Yelp Inc.

Earth Day is here. Check out these 22 ways you can you make your office a more green environment not only today, but EVERY day.

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Tags: Business, Earth Day, Ecological footprint, Environment, Fluorescent lamp, going green at work, Green building, greening the office, Incandescent light bulb, newtek web services, Recycling, Small Business, tips for going green

When it comes to SEO, there’s a lot that plays into the equation, but only 5 things that really matter. Pay attention to these and your efforts will pay off.

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Tags: Evo Terra, Google, newtek web services, search, Search engine optimization, Search Engines, Web search engine

If you are engaging in email marketing but not seeing the results that you were hoping for, you probably need to change some aspect of your email. But what could be the problem? This is where Split Testing, aka A/B Testing, can help.

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Tags: A/B testing, best subject lines, Business, Computer-mediated communication, email, Email Marketing, email marketing tips, MailChimp, marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Small Business

Building customer loyalty is a core goal for anyone marketing a business. Recruiting brand loyalists can be a grueling pursuit, but one that can pay dividends. We’ve provided a few ways you can take things even further by making your customers your friends.

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Tags: brand loyalists, brand loyalty, customer loyalty, Foursquare, geo-location, Gowalla, location based apps, Small Business, small business tips

We recently spoke with Newtek’s President of Business Lending, Peter Downs, about small businesses and the state of small business lending. This is the conclusion of the two-part interview.

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Tags: access to funds, community banks, community credit unions, Newtek, Newtek Business, Newtek lending, non-bank lenders, non-bank lending, Peter Downs, SBA, SBA loans, Small Business Administration, small business lending, supporting local banks

For many small business owners, establishing trust and credibility can be a challenge. Here’s three tips that can help your business appear bigger.

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Tags: Brett Favre, email, Frill Lizard, Line2, merchant account, merchant processing, Small Business

According to a recent study conducted by the University of Maryland and Network Solutions, 2009 was the year that small businesses really started to understand the value of adopting social media. Is your business socially engaged?

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Tags: CRM, customer relationship management, small business and social media, social engagement, Social Media