The Weekend Reader is posted every Sunday with my favorite eye-catching, inspiring, innovative and informative articles of the week.
How to Organize a Successful Meetup: “Gathering friends, followers and “likers” online can only take you so far in the world of networking. Organizing a Meetup is a great way to move your virtual network to a tangible territory.” [Mashable]
15 Things Every Business Owner Should Know: “Cash crunches happen from time to time, but if they are chronic at your company, then you may have to re-think the way you do business. Though cash-flow squeezes often seem mystifying, there are only a few explanations: Your gross margins may be too low, caused by discounted prices or out-of-control direct costs. Your overhead, including rent and payroll, may be too high. Your payment terms may be too liberal or your billing procedures too slack. You may be tying too much money up in accounts receivable or you have too much debt from nonpaying customers. Finally, it is also possible that you are holding too much inventory. If you feel tight on cash, investigate each of these possibilities and figure out which one is causing the biggest drain on your bank account.” [Inc.com]
How to Use Photos to Sell More Online: “As a photographer and UX designer, I pay particular attention to the effectiveness of photography when I’m testing with users. Regardless of the context, users rarely fail to comment on or be influenced by photography when shopping online. This article pulls together principles from psychology, marketing, UX design and photographic theory. It provides a set of principles to follow when commissioning and editing photography and when planning and designing profitable e-commerce user experiences. [Smashing Magazine]
The Ultimate Glossary: 101 Social Media Marketing Terms Explained: “On the web today, things change fast. New applications launch every day and existing applications continue to evolve and add new features. As we all learn about social media and inbound marketing and we teach others about it, having a resource that quickly and clearly explains all of the basic terms and applications is critically important.” [Hubspot Small Business Blog]
50 Ways to Build Your Email Marketing List: “When it comes to your email marketing campaigns, you just go by the tried-and-true tactics of “spray and pray” or “batch and blast”, right? Whoa, whoa, whoa. You answered “no” to that question, right? (I hope no one actually agreed with me!) I know that you’re all smart email marketers who work hard to grow your list organically, engage your subscribers, and use your campaign metrics to tweak and plan for future sends. Unfortunately, not all email marketers are as smart and hard-working as you. Yes, there are people who still rent or purchase lists, often causing more problems than they solve. [Blue Sky Factory]
image credit: furiousgeorge81
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