Author Archives: Small Business Planned

About Small Business Planned

*** DO NOT DELETE THIS PROFILE *** This is the profile of David Moloney, web designer from smallbusinessplanned.com. This profile allows smallbusinessplanned to continually deliver your hosting bonuses. If you delete this profile, your hosting bonuses will also cease. If you have any questions, please email me at david@smallbusinessplanned.com

Ads I Love: Tom Waterhouse Review

3 Replies

Have you seen the Tom Waterhouse ad? Just like the Nikon ad, there’s an X factor about it that appeals to me. Let’s take a closer look…

First of all, I must say that I am against betting agencies being able to advertise on mass media (TV, radio and print). I think this normalises gambling and will have long term negative effects on the next generation. To be clear – I’m not against gambling – just its wide spread promotion. Having said the above disclosure, Tom Waterhouse is doing what any other business would do – leveraging available media to achieve a favourable return on investment.

I really do like the Tom Waterhouse ad. He gained my trust. If I was a gambling man I would consider parking my cash at his place. So after catching the ad a few times on TV, I took a moment to examine why the ad is ticking the right boxes. Because, by knowing the techniques the ad uses, we are all better placed to learn and implement them for our own businesses.

The Tom Waterhouse Ad is Well Executed

But before we jump into understanding why the ad is a success, we must first understand the market that the ad is talking to. For any chance of success, an ad must understand the fears and motivations of its market.

Obviously, the ad is talking to the betting punters – primarily in the horse racing market. The people in this market are motivated by not losing their money and by getting hot tips / good advice to give them edge over the odds. Tom Waterhouse knows this and does a great job at allaying those fears and building those motivations. Here’s the original ad:

Looking at the above ad and his associated website, you can’t help but nod that Tom has done a good job at positioning himself as a leader in horse racing betting placement and advice. Let’s look at the factors that contribute to the success of his communications:

Image & Reputation

Betting is an environment with a high level of uncertainty. People gravitate to those that show confidence and appear to have the answers. Take a look at the ad and how it’s shot:

Tom’s actions are slowed down and measured. There’s no surprises. People betting don’t want surprises. They want firm confidence. The way that Tom’s filmed, along with his expressions has confidence and control stamped all over it
Tom’s filmed in black and white. This is both a nostalgic hat tip to the history of bookies and his family lineage. This helps crystallize Tom’s agency’s link with the past. The introduction of the ‘almost’ ‘Tiffany blue‘ also introduces a feeling of contemporary elegance… without sounding too pompous
Tom is talking. There’s no voice over. Tom is talking to you one on one in a direct yet inviting tone
Tom’s a Waterhouse: Which is horse racing royalty in Australia. Tom’s the son of Robbie and Gai Waterhouse (and grandson to Bill Waterhouse). This gives Tom instant credibility as he knows the game and is probably close to the horse trainers who have the key information.

Reaching Out to the Market

Going back to the motivations of the betting punter, Tom knows he must manage the uncertainties the market has. He does this by:

It’s Tom. Tom is the face of his betting agency. Other betting agencies are faceless corporates. By having a face, people are better able to relate to the agency and in turn trust it
Posting ‘to camera’ videos giving his betting advice. These are well done and are a great value ad the differentiates. In a way Tom seems to be mirroring the business model of subscription based share traders. Two quick improvements could be the addition of a lapel mic (to reduce echo) and better positioned branding that isn’t obscured
Increase your betting IQ is the Tom Waterhouse tagline. Again, this talks directly to the inherent uncertainties that the betting market has. Tom releases regular videos and newsletters aimed at giving people info (and realistically prompting them to bet). This constant communication progressively strengthens the ties between Tom Waterhouse and the punter
First Past the Post. This is Tom Waterhouse’s point of difference. He will pay out instantly on whichever horse pasts the post first – regardless if any protests are lodged. And if a lodged protest is upheld, he will pay out on that horse too. Now I don’t have the statistics on how may horse races protests are successfully upheld, but I’m guessing it would be minimal. But regardless, this point of difference does give the punter two benefits – instant cash payout and a better chance of winning. Great benefits.

Potential Future Brand Dangers

So all in all the Tom Waterhouse agency has positioned and executed a great ad. He also looks to have a strong brand on his hands. But while we’re talking about Tom Waterhouse, it would be remiss of me to mention the possible brand dangers the agency faces in the future. These include:

Stretching to other Sports Betting: Although Tom Waterhouse launched with a definitive ad on horse racing, he has recently released another Tom Waterhouse ad that further expands his expertise to other sports betting. It will be interesting to see how this business picks up, as I’m not he’s positioned as well in this market. As per perception – people know you are good at one thing. And people will know that Waterhouse is good at horse betting. To move this perception to other areas will require loads of cash and patience. And my knee jerk reaction would be for Tom to stay out of this market and instead just focus and own the horse racing market. His ‘betting’ brand doesn’t (yet) have the strength to stretch into other markets. And efforts to push forward into these markets may waver his focus and dilute his strong niche betting brand.

Weak Call to Action: When I first went to visit his website, I thought the url was firstpastthepost.com. Because those were the key words on at the end of the ad – and also his key differentiator. Having visited this website, it’s clear that it has nothing to do with Tom Waterhouse. This is a lesson in driving home a clear call to action and having this visible to every idiot watching. Relying on the url in his logo isn’t enough.

To be fair, Tom does verbally say the call to action. but this needs to be backed up on screen.

Whadif a Scandal? Yes having Tom as the face of the brand is a plus. But with every plus, there’s also a downside. Tom Waterhouse and Tom Waterhouse betting are 100% linked. All positive and negative PR will effect the other. If there’s a scandal, like it or not either the Tom Waterhouse persona or the Tom Waterhouse agency will be tarred with the same brush. Tom therefore has to ensure that all his dealings are squeaky clean.

Whadif Changing Business Direction? The business is clearly labelled under Tom’s name. But what if Tom wanted to sell out, or add another heavyweight to the brand. Would the Tom Waterhouse brand live on unmodified? I think not. Personally I would have named the business with a brand name, and added Tom’s name as an endorsement. E.g Tom Waterhouse’s First Past the Post. This endorsement could then be dropped or modified when needed – with the core brand – First Past the Post – remaining as is.

Sure, there’s a precedent for selling out of businesses that carry your own name (like Dick Smith), but Tom’s business model relies too much on specialist knowledge rather than full proof procedures.

Have you seen the Tom Waterhouse ad? What do you think?

Growing your small business,

David Moloney

Small Business Planned

Domainregister.com.au & Domainnamegroup.com.au Scam?

7 Replies

Have you got a letter in the mail from domainregister.com.au or perhaps domainnamegroup.com.au? If you have you’re probably wondering what it’s all about? Well to put it simply they are trying to sell you an available domain name at a hefty price. The going rate they quoted me was $249.00 for two years. Ouch.

domainregister.com.au offers domains at prices 938% above retail

Turns out these folks are well known to Australian overseeing bodies. Many have already issued consumer alerts. And that’s not to mention that there are forums abuzz with other souls trying to get the good oil.

Firstly, it’s crucial to understand that the typical market rate for a com.au domain is about $24 for two years. This means that the ‘offer’ that domainregister.com.au is putting forward is $225 over and above the regular retail price. Or for dramatic effect 938% above regular retail price.

Now it’s important to note that I don’t think domainregister.com.au is not doing anything illegal. But I do believe that they are taking advantage of people’s knowledge. Just like I noted in perception vs reality – people can be taken advantage of when they have a knowledge gap between what they think is right and what is actually right. In this case, if you had no knowledge of domain prices, but generally assumed that anything technological comes with a high price tag – you might believe – and be happy to pay $249 for a two year domain name. Domainregister.com.au is relying on this ignorance to convert sales.

Domainregister.com.au Letter is Persuasive

Let’s take a closer look at the other elements used to try and influence you to take up their offer:

Good business name. Domain Register sounds legit and credible doesn’t it. Like a company that you would trust
Letter looks like an invoice. If it looks like an invoice, you’re more likely to be persuaded to pay it
In addition to the domain name, they offer ‘free email and web formatting’ plus a ‘free gift’ (never disclosed)
The letter quotes the phone number of a support centre, again indicating that the company is large and legitimate
Visa and MasterCard logos are shown, which again act to legitimise the whole operation
The company office is noted as Collins Street Melbourne, a prestigious Melbourne address – again offering credibility (although many business seem to be registered at the same address).

So I must hand it to them, they have done quite a good job at including persuasive elements to encourage people to fork out the $249. I could name one or two more that they could use to improve the letter, but I wouldn’t want to assist them.

A final point. If you receive this letter. I recommend that you throw it in the bin. Caveat emptor – buyer beware.

Growing your small business,

David Moloney
Small Business Planned

Ads I Love: Nikon

5 Replies

In case you’ve never snapped a photo in your life, Nikon is regarded as one of the premier camera makers in the World. All the camera nerds I know swear by Nikon and wouldn’t dare switch to a competitor. Now that’s brand loyalty.

Have you seen the latest Nikon campaign – ‘I AM…’? It’s a great example of how to run a strong emotional campaign. Check it out:

Why I Love This Ad

I love the above Nikon ad. Even tough weathered marketers give Nikon the thumbs up.

It’s a great example of how a powerful emotional ad can have a strong connection to a product/service. In this case Nikon is presenting snapshots of memorable moments. Memorable moments that people can relate to – and hopefully that can project themselves into. This ticks all the boxes for their brand personality.

I especially love the Jamie Oliver cameo. The second expression Jamie makes at the 0:18 second mark is priceless and really conveys a sense of humility during a key family experience. It always makes me smile. Without this I think the ad would be all the poorer.

Nikon have some other campaign ads in their arsenal, even featuring Robbie Williams and Stephanie Gilmore. I hear Ashton Kutcher features in the US version, but we don’t get this in Australia.

And the cinematography! Magic. Add a strong emotive background sound track, and BAM! you’re drawn in to the whole situation and left with a pleasant uplifting feeling. In actual fact, many people love the soundtrack – every third comment on YouTube seems to be: Which band sings this song? The answer for the curious being – Welcome Home by Radical Face.

Nikon made a smart move in this regard as the song isn’t that well known – and based on the feedback it may become big in the future. If the song does get big, it will forever be known as ‘That song from the Nikon ad’. And that is an automatic brand trigger. An automatic slice of free publicity.

The other powerful element is the striking boxed overlay ‘I AM…’ prevalent through the whole ad. This is a seemingly omnipotent branding device which stamps Nikon throughout the entire ad, rather than at a slide at the end where it could be forgotten. What’s more this sentence is powerful. It binds the user to Nikon has with the memorable situations. Plus, it’s used in such a way that infers that your name or situation could easily be added to the black box. This makes the brand more accessible and more relevant to you.

Nikon I Am Ad: Good One

What Sucks About This Ad

Good ads should seamlessly integrate through every brand touch point. E.g when I go online, visit a store or contact the support centre, the current messaging should be present throughout.

Does Nikon tick the boxes in this regard?

Well… not entirely. At the end of the ad, Nikon promotes the website mynikonlife.com.au. And this website is quite good – encouraging people to submit their ‘I AM’ picks. But why can’t Nikon bolt this onto their current website?

People may see the ad and simply visit nikon.com.au. And if they do go to the main site – lo and behold – there isn’t a hint of the ‘I AM’ campaign. What’s that about?

That’s a missed opportunity and a sales pathway disconnect. The core Nikon, website doesn’t seem to give a toss about the strong emotional attachment of the campaign, but rather prompts you to identify the country you are from – then throws a bunch of product categories at you. For a leader in cameras, I would have thought they would be able to integrate their brand promise at least a little better.

I see a lot of brands directing advertising campaigns to domains other than their main domain and I cry a bit. Not a lot, but a bit. Why is it so? People interested in your products or messages will naturally visit your main brand site for more information. Don’t complicate things by insisting on another domain or you risk losing them entirely.

Plus it doesn’t make sense from a SEO perspective. Shouldn’t sites be trying to drive traffic to their main site – rather than a separate satellite site? You’re funneling traffic away from your main site and therefore also away from an integrated sales pathway.

So Why Do Businesses Promote Separate Websites?

OK, I’m not in their boardroom when they make this call. But I do have a theory. This hinges on the fact that the main website of a business (in this case nikon.com.au) is overseen by the internal IT / Design department at Nikon.

When a new campaign is dreamt up, many companies face IT challenges. Either internal resources are already stretched, or unwilling to co-operate with marketing and other external advertising agencies. For this reason it’s a lot easier to build a new website than cut through the necessary red tape to integrate the campaign with the existing website.

So as a result of this internal conflict, the two sites are kept separate – and the user experience dies a bit.

…and plus there may also be security concerns with increased functionality that IT departments simply don’t want to expose their core website to.

Have you seen the Nikon ad? I would love to know what you think,

Growing your small business,

David Moloney

Small Business Planned

Is Yellow Pages Advertising Worth It?

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Yellow Pages (owned by Sensis) offers Yellow Pages print directory advertising and Yellow Pages online advertising. Business can get a free listing in each, but to get a decent sized ad you need to lay down your wallet and usually some serious cash. So the question that comes up each year is – is Yellow Pages advertising worth it?

According to Yellow Pages 8.5 million weekly searches are made using its print directory. That is high. And I must admit, impressive.

If your contemplating advertising in the Yellow Pages, just be aware that the above 8.5 million weekly searches statistic applies to the whole of Australia. Yellow Pages print directories have different versions split across metro and regional markets. And your ad is likely to appear in only one of these directories (well… unless you pay more), so the weekly searches in your given local directory will be a lot smaller.

Is Yellow Pages Advertising Worth It?

Proof of Yellow Pages Declining

Is Yellow Pages advertising worth it? Or could it be a small business mistake? Perhaps. It’s well known that Yellow Pages usage is declining. It’s largest competitor, True Local loves to commentate and point this Yellow Pages decline.

But it’s important to note that this decline is off a large baseline – The whole of Australia – so opportunities may still be there for positive return on investment.

Any semi literate statistician knows that you can sculpt and twist data to make it appear how you wish. So for this reason I always take surveys and statistics with a shake of salt. However there is one barometer of Yellow Pages advertising that can’t be debated – the changing size of the Yellow Pages print directory.

I have measured the changing Yellow Pages directory dimensions for the last three editions and have found that the physical volume of the 2012 directory has shunk 46% since 2010. And this rate is accelerating. Wow.

Yellow Pages Print has Shrunk 46% in 2 Years

Another interesting snippet to note – ever since I could remember I received a Yellow Pages A-K and an L-Z directory. But this year for the first time I received a solitary A-Z directory. And both its height and width were smaller than the previous 2011 directory.

And if the Yellow Pages directory is physically shrinking, it means that their business advertisers are collectively pulling out. They are either getting a better deal elsewhere, such as through SEO or pursuing other marketing channels. Unless Yellow Pages are recouping this lost business in their online channel, this does not bode well for their ongoing growth.

So is Yellow Pages worth it? From a social proof perspective, businesses are pulling out. So if you are after a crowd sourced answer, it seems to be a very loud ‘NO!’

Interested to hear your thoughts…

Growing your small business,

David Moloney
Small Business Planned

You Need to CCleaner Your Computer

15 Replies

No it’s not a typo. There’s a program called CCleaner. It’s free to download and it will spring clean your computer in a jiffy to free up disc space and make it run faster. Yippee. It’s also one of the applications in my recommended downloads section, so I vouch for it.

What is CCleaner?

Firstly, let’s get over the double ‘c’ in the name. It effectively means c: – cleaner. So in other words it’s designed to clean the hard drive of your computer. But fear not, it’s pretty smart. It won’t go scrounging around your folders and chuck out your precious documents or images willy nilly. Instead, it’s designed to seek and destroy temporary system file footprints that pretty much just take up space and slow down your computer.

CCleaner Mops up Unnecessary Files to Free up Disc Space

In short, CCleaner gives you the option to delete:

temporary files
broken shortcuts
browsing history
temporary internet downloads

How often you run it is up to you. I’m a fan of running it weekly, but there’s no hard and fast rule.

Preview of CCleaner in Action

Where Do I Download Me Some CCleaner?

CCleaner is made by a company called Piriform. It’s also only a couple of megabytes in size, so doesn’t weight down your system with its presence. It’s primarily built for PCs, however there is a preliminary Mac version.

Download CCleaner

Growing your small business,

David Moloney
Small Business Planned

Why Novak Djokovic Would be Punished if he was a Football Player

7 Replies

Last night I watched Novak Djokovic win the final of the 2012 Australian Open. It was the longest tennis match in Australian Open history (5hr 53 minutes). Apparently the longest professional tennis match was a shade over 11 hours and was played over three consecutive days (I think they even ran out of deuce). But anyway, the Djokovic / Nadal match was true emotional grit that had me up until about 2am. So forgive me if I wander off here… Being the marketing tragic that I am (and fan of the Gruen Transfer TV show), I focused on something that not many others may have picked up.

While all pumped up on emotion, Novak did something at the end of the tennis match which would be a cause for discipline in the football (soccer) league.

About 30 seconds after winning the match Novak ripped off his shirt before displaying a few primal screams. The crowd went wild and clapped like a bunch of bananas.

But if he did the same thing on a football field, he would have scored a yellow card because you are not allowed to remove your shirt on a football pitch. FIFA doesn’t like it. Although the rules don’t spell out why, occasionally the football powers explain it away by indicating that it could incite bad behaviour or waste time.

Sergio Tacchini. Here’s Some Sponsorship Exposure For You

Sounds like a load of squid’s guts to me. In fact it seems a prime example of the quote:

“There are two reasons why someone does something. The reason they say and the real reason.” Anon

FIFA’s explanation is laughable. But what could be the real reason? Enter our good friend the mighty dollar. Sport attract billions of sponsorship dollars every year as brands aim to be associated with the values and success of sporting teams. The sponsors obviously want a return for the money they spend. And this return is usually through exposure at the venue, on TV and through newspapers/magazines. All those little glimpses of sponsor logos combine to become recognised, understood and considered at a later more relevant time.

And when are these glimpses of the sponsorship logos the most important? When players score a goal and the cameras zoom in. Those photos could be on the front page of the newspaper, giving mass exposure to the visible sponsors. That’s when the sponsors logos work their hardest. And when they make the sponsorship executives smile the most.

That’s why football players get penalised for removing their shirts. It reduces the return on investment of the team sponsors.

The shirtless image of Novak Djokovic was reprinted across the World, sometimes even on the front page. As a result his primary sponsor Sergio Tacchini missed out on extensive exposure. Bummer, considering all the money they must pay. But Novak must have been hot after all that tennis.

Growing your small business,

David Moloney

Small Business Planned

The Library is For Success Not Cheapskates

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The self imposed 24 hour Wikipedia blackout has just ended. Students trying to do their research without blatantly copying may have been forced to visit an institution that only their parent’s had heard about. The library.

When I attended school, the library was kind of known as a geeky place. The majority of the books were on dirgey school topics or as closely aligned to education as possible. Apart from the section on ghosts and science fiction, which was kind of cool. This library layout is understandable. It’s a school asset. Unfortunately this library setup creates a perception gap in our minds once we leave school. We leave school thinking ‘libraries are for school books… boring.’

But these days nothing could be further from the truth. Your local library (well if it’s any good) has a diverse range of practical business books, up to date technology manuals, back issues of specialty magazines, insightful biographies and a full collection of Mills and Boon romance novels (apparently ‘Decoded’ is the best).

The Library: Learn From Others For Free

You don’t blink at borrowing a DVD for entertainment, so why shy away from borrowing a book to further your knowledge? Libraries are incredible free assets that you should take full advantage of. Otherwise you’re a fool.

Which brings me to one of my favourite quotations:

” You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Charlie Jones

Or put simply, you need to be exposed to ideas and knowledge to continually grow and succeed. Go ahead and stand on the shoulders of giants that have paved the way before and learn from their mistakes and triumphs. You will be surprised how they can help you further your own small business or activity.

I’ve normally got one or two books out from the library at one time. Personally, I have borrowed books on marketing, sales, design, coding, photography, leadership and innovation. The best way to read these books is with a pen and paper. This allows you to note key ideas and concepts that you can later adapt. But this technique is for another post.

Yes I admit, I’ve borrowed some bad excuses for books as well – so I just found myself skimming the pages and admiring the pretty pictures. But it was no big loss, as they didn’t cost me anything. Plus truth be known, I did learn one or two things from those bad books anyway – so it all helps.

Below are the benefits you get out of using a library

You have access to free books, CDs and DVDs
You can usually borrow unlimited items
You can usually renew these items twice online, so there’s no need to trapse back to the library for a new stamp
Most libraries have free internet and WIFI
Libraries are quiet, freeing you from distraction so you can complete a work task
Reserving a popular book that’s on loan, then being notified of its subsequent availability

And if you are a fiction junkie, you can also go nuts in the story aisle to help you sleep at night (see point 5).

So, next time you find yourself hovering around your local library, slip on in and sign up for a free library card. Try out two or three books that you think could help your small business and flick through them with a cup of coffee.

Growing your small business,

David Moloney
Small Business Planned

What is the Gruen Transfer?

8 Replies

Gruen transfer, sounds like a funny name right? Almost like a kind of beer. But what is the Gruen Transfer? Actually it’s a term coined by the Austrian architect Victor Gruen and it’s all about influencing shopping centre design to maximise unplanned sales. It pretty much takes small business mistakes, flips them on their head and energises them to an inch of their life.

The Gruen Transfer Aims to Generate Unplanned Sales

Ever wondered why the milk is at the back of the supermarket, why the chocolate bars are squeezed next to the checkout, or why that easy beat 1980’s hit is softly yearning over the PA? It’s not an accident. It’s a carefully choreographed system which has been shown to deliver extra sales.

TV: The Gruen Transfer on the ABC

It should also be noted that The Gruen Transfer is the name of a popular ABC Australia show which discusses the advertising and marketing industry. It’s interesting and entertaining stuff. You can stream past episodes via the Gruen Transfer Page on the ABC website.

What exactly is the Gruen transfer?

We normally visit a shop for a reason. Say, to replenish a dozen litres of milk, browse the jam donuts section or to hip and shoulder a trolley. This can be regarded as priority one.

We boldly strut into the shopping centre and scan the aisle for the beginning of our attack. And here’s where the psychology of the shopping centre begins. By appealing to our five senses, the shopping centre design can begin to make us deviate from our initial goal. Or alternatively can make us add new items to our shopping list.

Our eyes are bombarded with sale signs, our nose smells those hot jam donuts, we’re given a free sample of a new icecream or we listen to a song which makes us walk more slowly. The longer we are in the store the more we are likely to buy. This is especially true in hardware shops like Bunnings or Walmart. I’m guilty of this myself.

And then at the end when you’re fumbling for your wallet and fuming at the person in front of you for carrying over 15 items, you see a drink, or a chocolate bar or even today’s paper. ‘This looks good’, you think as you begin to silently go comatose doe to line boredom. ‘That item will make me happier than I am now… which isn’t hard because my life is pretty much on hold at the moment’. So (sometimes) you pick it up and add it to your shopping list. Kerching! Another sale thanks to the pioneering work of the Gruen Transfer.

Growing your small business,

David Moloney
sbp.strongerbranch.com

What is Fiverr.com

8 Replies

Fiverr.com Helps You Complete Tasks for $5

Look in your wallet. Have you got $5? That’s all it takes to use the services of fiverr.com. Fiverr is a site that connects people that want services with people that provide services, much like Elance and vWorker. The key difference being that every worker listed in Fiverr is willing to complete a task for $US5.

What is the Site Good For?

I must admit, I was sceptical. Especially with my mindset of cheap, fast or good. But I’m pleased to report that although I’ve used Fiverr.com a handful of times, each time has been positive. Naturally there are some tasks that the site is better suited to than others. Below is an overview of commonly provided services:

Image manipulation
Website banners
Logos
Voice Overs
Video Introductions
SEO / Website advice

In addition, you can also pay people to complete more weird or bizarre work like pretending to be your girlfriend on Facebook, knitting a scarf for your dog or even having breakfast with you via Skype. Hmmm….

So What’s in it for the Worker?

$5 is in it. Well, actually $4, as fiverr.com keeps $1 of every transaction as payment. $4 doesn’t sound like much, but it can be good money to those who work in developing economies. Alternatively some workers use Fiver.com to build their portfolio or earn some pocket money on the side.

Important Advice Before You Purchase

If you’re looking to use Fiverr.com to complete some work, there are a few things you need to know to get maximum value out of your $5. Otherwise the result you get may only be worth $2.50 at best.

Look at their feedback (See 100% above). Ensure the provider you choose has a high Gig rating. Read their supplied reviews too.
Check the provider’s expected delivery date. Often talented providers get swamped with orders and can’t turn jobs around as quickly as other providers. The provider above has a 5 day wait, which is quite long (But given their reviews this shows that people are happy to wait for talent). In general you should be able to get a good provider who turns work around in a day.
Before you book a job with them it is SO IMPORTANT to click the ‘contact seller’ button before ordering. This will allow you to send a few sentences to the provider and ask if they are available/ capable of completing your work. This may seem like an overkill or silly move – but it will protect you from having to go through the refunds process if your expectations aren’t quite right. Plus it gives you an opportunity to see how responsive the provider is before committing to the job.
Take the time to write an exact brief. Document exactly what you want, tell them what success looks like and tell them what you don’t want. The more guidance the better. Also be aware that the job is for $5, so don’t write a thesis here as it’s not fair to the provider.

What About Revisions?

In general, providers on Fiverr.com don’t offer revisions. Nor should they really. This means that the first time you see the work will be the final draft. Hence why writing an exact brief is so important.

You may be able to secure a revision if the task is easy to alter (such as an image manipulation) or if the work submitted didn’t reflect the directions in your brief. In all, being polite and amicable will go a long way here. Don’t take advantage of people and treat providers how you would like to be treated yourself.

Wrap Up

I recommend using Fiverr.com if you know exactly what you want and you know how to articulate it. It’s a great site that makes micro outsourcing fun. If you’re looking for a freelancer to complete a more comprehensive task, or one that you are not completely sure of (therefore requiring multiple revisions), I would recommend using either another freelancer site or seeking recommendations from your associates.

Growing your small business,

David Moloney
sbp.strongerbranch.com

SugarSync Review – Dropbox with More Grunt

6 Replies

SugarSync is one of my top recommended downloads for Small Business owners. It’s an online application that you can download to your desktop or mobile device. It allows you to save files to an online cloud-based storage service and synch these files instantly. It’s kind of like Dropbox, but with bigger limits. In this highly mobile world, this is a true asset. And after this SugarSync review I’ll show you how you can get the service for free with bonus storage space.

SugarSync is like DropBox With More Grunt

Using SugarSync means that you don’t have to continually save files to a portable USB, or upload them to another host service. SugarSync allows you to have a copy of a file saved from one of your device to all your other devices making your life simpler. And another great thing is, you can share these files with other users by giving them access to select folders or files.

How does SugarSync work?

After downloading SugarSync, you have a few options.

SugarSync has a ‘Magic Briefcase’ folder, similar to Dropbox, which will appear to your My Documents folder. This Magic Folder will save everything that you put in it and synch it to the other devices that you have linked to your SugarSync folder.

Alternatively, SugarSync lets you nominate specific files and folders to share. This process is handled through your online login with the SugarSync website.

What are the features of SugarSync?

Mobile support: The SugarSync application can be downloaded to your iPhone, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile. It is a native application in the mentioned handset giving you better integration and better viewing and features.
Data sharing: SugarSync allows you to share your data online with your staff, business partners, friends and family. To provide them access, simply nominate the folder (through the online SugarSync interface) and enter their email address to give them access. They will of course need to download SugarSync
Flexibility with SugarSync Manager: With SugarSync manager, organising files is nice and flexible. This feature allows you specify where among your devices you can save specific files like songs, photos, videos, and other data. The handy thing with this feature is that you can choose who to share information with – and whether they have read only or edit access.

SugarSync vs Dropbox

I use both SugarSync and Dropbox, to get the benefits of both Worlds. But in short, SugarSync is more flexible and has larger storage limits. Here’s a rundown of the comparison between SugarSync and Dropbox.

It’s Free. Get an Extra 500MB Here

I am a SugarSync kind of guy. You can sign up for free SugarSync account and get 5GB of storage space. Or you can use my link (here) to download SugarSync and score an additional 500MB of space for free (giving you 5.5GB). This gives me an extra 500MB too. Hooray for free bonuses.

Growing your small business,

David Moloney
sbp.strongerbranch.com