Update on Jott.com

I first posted about Jott.com back in June 2007 and received a lot of positive feedback from readers and clients who test drove this free message/transcription service themselves.

Based on my own personal use, I heartily endorse it. I use it to send myself messages often when I'm driving or am in a place where I can't conveniently write stuff down. I have hesitated to use it to send messages to clients and colleagues, mostly because of the often "creative" interpretations of my messages by transcribers in India.

But I'm pleased to report that Jott has greatly enhanced their service. They now rate the level of "transcription confidence." And I noticed that the quality is much better. Plus you can always listen to a recording of your message, forward it to others, or set it as a reminder to be sent to either your email address or phone number. This is hands down the best new tool that I have incorporated into my business in 2007.

Does Your Marketing Match Your Message?

"A meatball sundae is the unfortunate result of mixing two good ideas."

That's a quote from Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing Out of Sync? Chalk it up to Seth Godin to come up with another instantly usable business metaphor. This is the man who brought us the world of Purple Cows (turn something commonplace into the extraordinary) and the Big, Red Fez (not sure what that's about but I know it has something to do with web site design).

Just a head's up that, his latest book will arrive online and in stores on December 20, 2007. Just in time for a quick read while waiting at the airport during holiday travel season.

To get a sneak preview, visit Godin's Squidoo lens (don't worry if you don't know what that means!) devoted exclusively to this new project.

Staying Abreast of the Latest Color Trends

Did you know that it's officially Autumn? For some of us, the season crept in unannounced and for others, well, I think the word "blustery" was invented for Fall. If your business deals with color in any way, shape, or form, you can draw a lot of inspiration from nature's changing palette.

To help you decipher precisely which shade of orange, red, or yellow to use on your next project or the corresponding HEX# to use on a client's web site, visit ColourLovers.com. It's bursting with diverse color palettes, like the one shown above.

I particularly like the Colour Trends section, which lays out the current color schemes from major magazines. This can help, not only the interior decorator who wants to stay abreast of the latest trends, but also the solo business owner who considers a new look for a business card, invoice, or advertising campaign. Check it out.

The Greatest Success Characteristic

Dan Kennedy is a marketing and advertising master who has been around since well before the dawn of the Internet. In fact, he continues to create extremely effective direct mail and print advertising campaigns that put most Internet marketers to shame.

I have subscribed to his No B.S. Marketing Newsletter and most recently, his free Successful Marketing Strategies Online Course. The latter is delivered in a series of emails with links to the course via web site. You can sign up by visiting his home page. Scroll down a bit and look for the sign up form on the right sidebar.

The last few lessons have spoken to Kennedy's belief that the greatest success characteristic is the ability to handle a crisis. He goes on to say, "Now I want to point out a related characteristic that is perhaps even more important which is you need to fine tune the ability to such a degree that the recovery takes place in the blink of an eye. You can't go somber and be in depression or irritation or frustration for a day or a week or a month or a year. It's like this and then you're on to the next productive thing and that's the characteristic of these highly successful people that we observe."

I have to tip my hat to Kennedy for saying it so frankly (definitely his signature approach).

On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate your ability to bounce back from a setback or failure? Do easily roll with and respond effectively to the unexpected in business? If you are less than a 10, (and I'm sure most of us would say so and the rest, perhaps aren't being honest), what would it take for you to advance at least 2 more levels in the next 48 hours?

Check Out Your International Competition

If you ever want to look for resources outside of your native country and even your own native language, then you need to know about the Translated Search tool at Google Translate. You type in your key words, such as "hockey puck" and then specify that you want to search for web sites written in, say Korean or Arabic. Google Translate goes out, finds the web sites and then lists them for you in English, or whatever language you want. They even translate entire web sites for you.

Use this tool to get inspiration from around the world. Or, if for no other reason than to be entertained by the odd translations of Japanese into English.

To learn more about all that Google Translate has to offer, visit their FAQ sheet.

Warning, Will Robinson...Audio for Your Blog?

OK, so the "near-human quality" voice of this service does not sounds exactly like the robot from "Lost In Space", but it still lacks a certain warm and fuzzy feeling.

What the heck am I talking, er, writing about? It's a service called Odiogo and it converts text to speech in mp3 files that can then be downloaded to a computer or iPod. This service is currently free and they seem to be trying to attract bloggers in particular to subscribe and offer the option of listening to blog posts directly on site or having readers subscribe to a podcast so that they can download the files and listen to them on the go.

Check out the blog, The Red Ferret Journal, as an example.

I think the concept is very cool, although I have yet to be organized enough to do the whole podcast thing by hooking up my iPod daily and then listening to the automatic feeds that I have selected. But I know there is a huge market of extremely tech savvy folks out there, including teens and college aged kids who might prefer listening to material vs. reading it. And of course, there are simply those people who learn and retain more information from listening to the spoken word.

Will I sign up and feature this on The Business Blog? Well, seeing as how the correct pronunciation of the service is "oh-dee-oh-go" and the mechanical, near-human voice pronounces it "ah-dee-oh-go", I'm a bit skeptical. The jury is still out. Let me know what you think.

10 Effective Ways To Reduce Your Business Costs

1. Barter
If you have a business, try bartering goods and services with other businesses. Try to trade for something before you buy it. Barter deals usually require little or no money.

2. Network
Try networking your business with other businesses. You could trade leads or mailing lists. This will cut down on your marketing and advertising costs. You can also try bartering goods and services with them.

3. Wholesale/Bulk
You'll save money buying your business supplies in bulk quantities. You can get a membership at a wholesale warehouse or buy them through a mail order wholesaler.

4. Free Stuff
Try visiting the thousands of freebie sites on the internet before buying your business supplies. You can find free software, graphics, backgrounds, and online business services.

5. Borrow/Rent
Have you ever purchased business equipment you only needed for a small period of time? You can often borrow the equipment from someone else or rent the equipment from a "rent-all" store.

6. Online/Offline Auctions
You can find lower prices on business supplies and equipment at online and offline auctions. Maybe not every item all the time, but before you pay retail for these items try bidding on them first.

7. Plan Ahead
Make a list of business supplies or equipment you'll need in the future. Keep an eye out for stores that have big sales. Purchase the supplies when they go on sale before you need them.

8. Used Stuff
If your business equipment and supplies don't need to be new, buy them used. You can find used items at yard and garage sales, used stores, used stuff for sale message boards and newsgroups etc.

9. Negotiate
Get comfortable trying to negotiate a lower price for any business equipment or supplies. It doesn't hurt to ask.

10. Search
You can always search for new suppliers for your business supplies and equipment. Look for suppliers with lower prices and better quality. Don't assume that your current supplier has the best prices. And if you are happy with their service, tell them about a competitor that beat their price and ask if they will match it.