Free Online Business Directory

A free online business directory is a great way to get your business noticed, in the long run. As a foundational move a business directory shows up for people who search for categories, but also other search engines can spider it and help your listings get attention.

Top Local is a free online business directory with a twist. It is a free directory, but it’s also a way to develop a local referral group using our downloadable customized local business directories that each member can download and have a local print shop make copies.

Below is a chart we put together when we charged $20/month, which was extremely reasonable. Now that we have a free plan, the extra costs will come with extra benefits we will announce as they become available. But check out the power of using the local guides to market your business in the local area!

This local business guide is helpful for the whole local group because your business shows on the cover and the other (non-competing) businesses in your zipcode show inside. Each member’s business is featured on the cover of the guide they download, so customers will see that your business is featured on the front. There will not be any competitors inside because we limit listings to one business per category per zip code.

Countries outside the USA may have other address needs but the zip code can be used for any identifying number that segments your local area.

So, Top Local is more than a free online business directory. And it’s free. So please help us spread the word and build your local business group. Let us know if you’d like some local marketing mentorship or consulting. We can do that too. Check out our value proposition here Free Business Listing

February 8, 2023 | Marketing Guru

Business Development Strategies

How to Purge Deleted Emails from Outlook

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How to Purge Deleted Emails from Outlook

Ok. I know this is off the wall, but it’s important. If you’ve ever seen an inbox full of emails with lines through them, and they don’t go away, you’ll know how frustrating it can be. Yes it’s petty and insignificant, in the grand scheme of things. However, little annoyances add up. At least they do in my life. So here’s my story of me learning how to purge deleted emails from outlook.

After I set up my email account for TopLocal.org, I added it to my Outlook, along with several others. In total, I have 8 accounts managed by Microsoft Outlook. (SIDE NOTE) Microsoft, if you’re listening….please, please, please add the “all inboxes” function. It’s silly you don’t have it in Outlook but it’s free with Windows 10 mail. So, come on and get with the program. Anyway, back to how to purge deleted emails from outlook. My story continued…

Then, I noticed a ton of emails from the site, asking me to moderate comments on my posts. So I deleted them like normal. However, the only thing that happened was that I got a line through them. They didn’t go away no matter what I tried.

I tried everything I normally would try. I tried right-clicking on the folder, the inbox, etc. and looking at settings but I couldn’t figure out what to do. I tried the main Outlook settings and preferences. I scanned every settings page or menu I could find. I even went into the account settings for my toplocal email account. Nothing, Nada, Zilch, Zero!

Then, I remembered the good old menu at the top of the page. You know, the one with File, Edit, etc. Which brings me to step 1 of how to purge deleted emails from outlook.

Step 1

Just click to highlight the inbox folder for the account you want to purge. Then go to Edit/Purge/Purge Options.

Step 2

Once you’re in the Purge Options, just check the box to purge. See the image below

That’s it.

Step 3

Then hit OK and once you click to another folder and back again, to your inbox, the command will force a purge of all deleted email.

So, remember, if your inbox treats delete as “mark for deletion” and just puts a line through the email subjects, then you need to set it to purge those and really really delete them.

Annoying I know. But that’s just another annoyance solved by thinking smart.

Cheers. 🙂

April 5, 2018 | Marketing Guru

Tips

Spanish Small Business Owners are Confident

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The other day I heard that Spanish small business owners are growing at an incredible rate.

Bank of America recently conducted a survey of Hispanic Business Owners… 394 of them to be exact. These were from all over the country.

It showed some remarkable and eye-opening statistics. And we all love statistics. Take a look at their confidence numbers:

Confidence Statistics

88% think that the Hispanic small business environment will get stronger over the next 10 years.

77% have plans to grow their businesses over the next 5 years.

71% have expectations of increased revenue this year. Almost 40% of them plan to hire and close to 30% plan to apply for expansion loans.

65% of them think that Hispanic small business owners have challenges that others don’t. However, most of them feel their culture has been an advantage.

60% see local economic growth over the next year or two and most of them think the national economy is moving in the right direction.

Pretty enlightening isn’t it? I love seeing those numbers. I’ve always felt that the Spanish community is under-served and under-estimated.

Now for some more enlightening statistics, which go hand-in-hand with my last article about Social Media.

Most Hispanic Small Business Owners utilize social media in a big way, including all digital business tools.

Digital Trends

93% use digital tools every day, like online banking. This is compared with a 74% national average, across all cultures in America.

76% use social media to help run their businesses, compared with only 41% national average. Most concentrate in three areas. (Marketing, Networking, and Communicating with Customers) Plus, over half of those polled used social media for hiring.

53% said that social media has been good for their business, much higher than the national average.

It’s no wonder that Google recognizes Hispanic Small Business owners as being more in tune with technology than many others.

Perhaps the business community should embrace this growing trend.

April 4, 2018 | Marketing Guru

Business Development Strategies

How to Use Twitter for Promoting Your Business

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When thinking of how to use Twitter for promoting your business, most people shy away from Twitter because they don’t understand it.

Twitter, quite simply, is a short message communication tool. It allows up to 140 characters only. The good part is that it will allow links to other web content. So, if you write an article, create a video, or take a great picture, you can promote it on Twitter.

You can develop a following by simply speaking your mind and following other people, who have similar interests.

Twitter is considered a micro-blog because the length of posts is so small.

The first step on how to use Twitter for promoting your business, is to sign up and create your profile. This is an important step because it’s the only way anyone else will know who you are and what you’re all about. Use your personal name if you are a professional. Use a business name if you don’t fit into the professional category or just want to promote your business instead.

It’s important to complete your profile. Take your time and do it right. Upload your images, logo, etc. Really flesh it out. You don’t want to scrimp on this step.

Now for the good part. Actually using Twitter for promoting your business.

First, you want to slowly begin to follow anyone you find that you’ve done business with, worked with, sold to, bought from, competed against, etc. I mean anyone you have any connection with at all. Follow them.

Then, start “tweeting”. Just send out a note or thought. Try to do this as often as you can, but make your tweets relevant. If you see something great, you can “re-tweet” it. Once you get familiar with all of this, you’re going to want to be more careful about what you tweet. Share something useful or interesting. Share a great recipe, comment on your recent visit to a sporting event, a product you tried, etc. Talk about something your business is doing, something you’re planning, something you just got finished doing. Things like:

“I just finished inventory and determined I have way too many cherry wood step ladders. These are going on sale this weekend (link)”

“That was an amazing basketball game. KU didn’t win, but the game was exciting”

“OMG I just tried the new garlic & herb brie from Central Market. You’ve got to try it!”

“Register for my free e-book about the best way to cook a great steak with our new pellet grill. (link)”

“How to Use Twitter for Promoting Your Business. See my new article (link)”

Mix it up. Don’t just talk about your business, that’s boring and nobody wants to only hear about you.

But at least 50% of the time, drive traffic to your site somehow. You can even write non-business articles on your site and promote those. People are….people. They like human interest stories and tips that help enrich their lives. Everyone has talents other than the business they’re in. So, talk about yours and share your wisdom with the world.

Now, an advanced move is to begin using hashtags. These are things like #usingtwitterforbusiness or #twitterforbusiness

There’s a really thorough article all about this at https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-use-twitter-for-business-and-marketing/

Take a look at what they have to teach and give it a shot.

I recommend making a task list as you read. That way you’ll hit all the main points.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

April 3, 2018 | Marketing Guru

Business Development Strategies