*Vol 2006 - Issue 12* *December, 2006* /*Post Office Box 23874 Chattanooga, TN 37422 (423) 886-8367* / *DECEMBER MEETING * *Annual Christmas Luncheon and gift exchange* Now is the time to share some fun and seasons greetings with your fellow NAWBO members. Come to the annual Christmas luncheon, bring a small gift ($15 limit) and have fun while we hold our Chinese Gift Exchange. It's been a wonderful year and this is a great way to share good times. To sign up for the event, either email Nesha at Nesha_steele@bsbst.com or try out our new Event Registration section on our Website. Click here to register for November's lunch or go to www.chanawbo.org and click on Event Registration. Luncheon: *Thursday, December 21* Sign in: 11:15 AM Lunch: 11:30 AM Location: Mountain City Club 729 Chestnut St Cost $17.00 Register by *Monday December 18* Email Nesha_holloway@bsbst.com or register online at www.chanawbo.org All reservations must be paid *WELCOME - NEW MEMBER* *Kary Kline SmartHire HR* 5805 Lee Hwy Ste 306 Chattanoogat, TN 37421 (423) 266-8367 *OUR MISSION STATEMENT* Empower women business owners through education, opportunity and support, to achieve success economically, socially, and politically *Member News * Kim Campbell, owner of Chattanooga Closet Company, and Julie Bestry of Best Results Organizing, joined forces on Monday, November 13, 2006, for a well-attended presentation on key strategies and techniques for getting organized. This was the first in a series of Lunch & Learn events at Chattanooga Closet Company. *NAWBO CHATTANOOGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2006-2007 * President - Celeste Friend Immediate Past President - Marj Flemming Vice President - Julie Bestry Secretary - Katrina Chesney Meeting Management - Mary Robertson Treasurer - Deborah Wooten Membership Chair - Julie Bestry Newsletter - Pat Egen Publicity - Deborah Levine *President's Column By Celeste Friend* ?The greatest gift that you can ever give another is the gift of your expectation of their success.? This quote from The Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks summarizes why NAWBO exists for me. It is what I need from each of you and, in turn, what I can give to you as well. Obviously, I mean it in terms of your business success. Less obviously, I also mean it in terms of your life ? relationships, health, and happiness ? all the little pieces that assemble to make you who you are. I expect great things from each of you next year ? and I look forward to growing with you in the coming year. Our December meeting will feature our annual gift swap (commonly referred to as our Chinese Auction). This is always a lot of fun. Please plan to attend and bring a wrapped gift with an approximate value of $15. NAWBO is planning a full year of thought-provoking programs, networking nights, trainings on various aspects of business, and more. Please always feel free to share with me or any Board Member ways that we can improve or add to our group. I want to thank each of you for helping to make NAWBO a success. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *ONLINE MARKETING-- WEB SITES ARE JUST THE BEGINNING Submitted by Julie Bestry, President Best Results Organizing* An effective web site is a key marketing tool, but it just the beginning. Your site is like your brochure, detailing your services and products, benefits and philosophies, but you can't just print 1000 brochures and hope for the best. You need to network and send direct mail to get your brochures in the hands of your target audience. Web site marketing is the same: 1) Determine your target market and appeal to that niche, not the general population of the web. 2) Create an attractive but uncluttered site design that focuses on your benefits, is easy to navigate, and has a CALL TO ACTION, whether that's making an immediate product purchase or setting an appointment, requesting a telephone consultation, or signing up for your newsletter. 3) Use patented methods for drawing traffic, including attractive graphics and strong written content, search engine optimization (keywords in your web code to draw in search engine "spiders" so you'll be listed in search responses), and links to your site. Unidirectional links are those where directories or other sites link to you. Links in your newsletter or email signature line are also unidirectional. Although they have slightly less appeal to search engines, bi-directional links (where you trade links with other web sites serving similar in target audience to your own) also increase web traffic. Targeting your site, designing it to encourage action and getting the audience there are just the basics. Use your web site in concert with other online marketing methods to significantly boost your traffic: Ezines?are emailed versions of print newsletters. The more people sample your expertise, the more they'll be driven to your site to learn more and request contact. Blogging?is like having your own column on the web, and the constantly updated text is highly favored by search engines. Direct Marketing?is email designed to sell your services or products. Use your web site to collect a database of those who want to subscribe to your ezine and periodic marketing campaigns. Podcasting-- is like your own radio show, downloadable to computers or MP3 players. Sampling your expertise in audio form will inspire visitors to check out your site. Article Marketing?Submit your articles to web directories like GoArticles.com or EzineArticles.com where newsletter publishers will reprint them with your "resource box"-- your bio, special offers, and links to your site, email address, or ezine sign-up page. Online networking?replicates the social/business interaction at NAWBO, Rotary or Chamber of Commerce meetings. Determine the sites your target audience frequents (like Yahoo Groups, Ryze.com, LinkedIn.com, etc.), to network with your niche (work-at-home moms, entrepreneurs, the financially-flummoxed, etc.). Combine basic web site design and traffic strategies with these online marketing techniques to grow your audience and help your business thrive. Julie Bestry is a professional organizer, speaker and author who helps individuals and businesses save time and money, reduce stress and increase productivity through new organizational skills and systems. For information on how Julie can turn your chaos into serenity, visit Best Results Organizing at http://www.juliebestry.com. *PAGE TWO* *Color tech pink* The pace of women-run enterprises is triggering other changes as well, almost under the radar. Despite perceptions that technology remains the province of geeks and guys, women owners and consumers are increasingly early adopters of new digital products. For instance: ? Women owners with $1 million or more in revenues are more likely than male owners to consider technology as integral to their business strategy (58% vs. 35%). They are also more likely to operate a transactional Web site (56% vs. 38%), reports the Center for Women's Business Research. ? Women consumers now account for more than half ? a whopping $55 billion ? of the annual $96 billion spent on electronics, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. ? Plus, nearly nine out of every 10 women entrepreneurs (86%) say they use the same products and services at home as they do in their business. With women initiating fully 75% of all consumer electronic purchases, their interest in digital products is clearly on the rise. /Excerpt from a Microsoft Small Business article -//Click here for the full article / Chattanooga NAWBO Website National NAWBO Website Send us your comments and articles: Editor Email