WHY Xtra: 5 Offbeat Holiday Tie-ins

1. Multiple Personality Day, March 5. Offer a hot deal on a product or service and then immediately offer an even better deal as a celebration of two "mindsets."
2. Employee Appreciation Day, March 9. Offer goods and services at discounted, "employee" prices.
3. Middle Name Pride Day, March 10. Offer 5 percent off for those customers who list their middle name on the order form or contract, or have special discounts for customers who share your middle name.
4. Pi Day, March 14. Got tipped off to this tie-in opp by Cafepress.com, which sent out an email with the subject: "There's 3.14 reasons to celebrate!" Yours can say something just as cute, like, "Our product specials promise never-ending fun." Be creative!
5. April Fools' Day, April 1. Lots of companies toy with bogus promotions on this day to generate excitement. Check out our quiz in this issue's WHY magazine for some of the most memorable.

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WHY Xtra: 5 Ways to Create Buzz

1. Lead the social media charge. Go at 'em with your guns blazing: Use posts, tweets, videos, links -- everything in your arsenal -- to get your information out there. Remember, friends let friends drive traffic to their website.
2. Be a traditional media maven too. Stay in regular contact with those publications/websites that cover your industry or community. While social media is the hot place to chat up journalists, a solid press release -- emailed or snail-mailed -- still goes a long way.
3. Milk industry events. Conferences, meetings, seminars -- go to as many as you can and talk to as many people as you can.
4. Develop key opinion leader relationships. Opinion leaders are considered credible sources of information, and they can be found in virtually ever field. Know who yours are, and keep them well informed, making sure they know who you are as well.
5. Try something wacky. Invent a new buzzword. Host contests for your customers. Have giveaways. Get that Jason dude of I Wear Your Shirt to wear your logo for a day. You never know what can get the viral marketing ball rolling.

WHY Xtra: 5 Secrets of Great Presidents (of Countries & Companies)

1. Strength: The ability to withstand adversity and motivate yourself in the face of it.
2. Self-confidence: The ability to surround yourself with diverse perspectives and still believe in your own vision.
3. Flexibility: The ability to change course when things don't go as planned.
4. Integrity: The ability to adhere to a strict ethical code, particularly when it's the least popular option.
5. Humility: The ability to remain humble in the face of great power.

WHY Xtra: A Perfect Match? 5 Clues to Finding the Right Business Partner*

1. You share the same business goals. If one partner is looking to get rich quick and the other wants slow growth, it’s not going to work. You need to agree – in writing – on both the short- and long-term goals of the company.
2. You both plan to make the same level of commitment. Not only in terms of financial investment, but of time and dedication. Again, put it in writing.
3. You don’t share the same skills. Your business partner should be “smarter” than you in her respective area of expertise. Complementing one another will provide a firmer foundation for the company.
4. You have a good sense of each other’s business track record. Even though your potential partner is a “great guy” that you know and trust, you also should know how he functions in a business setting and seek out references on past performance.
5. You both communicate well. There are ups and downs to any business, and partners rely on each other for support. It’s important to pick someone who will be available and accessible. Remember, the wrong partner can be worse than having no partner at all.

*Remember, you can join the WHY magazine mailing list and have each week's Xtra emailed to you every Monday in pretty colors -- and with a photo!

WHY Xtra: 5 Business Plan Ground Rules

1. Know your market. Thoroughly investigate everything there is to know about your product/service, including target customers and competitors. Whether or not you plan to secure investors, you can’t know too much about your business.
2. Be realistic. We’d all like forecast ourselves as millionaires in five years, but it’s important to carefully assess your operating costs and growth potential.
3. Be accurate. Make a list of one-time and recurring costs. If you have to, get input from suppliers, advisors, partners and others who are knowledgeable about your business. You also should ask them for assistance with projecting future cash flows.
4. Get a second opinion. There are organizations that can provide valuable – and free – assistance, such as SCORE and the Small Business Administration.
5. Don’t just file your business plan away. Your business plan is a dynamic document and should reflect any changes that take place within the course of operating your company. Changing it doesn’t make it unsuccessful; it keeps it relevant.

WHY Xtra: 5 Super Business Card Networking Tips

1. Always ask for a business card. Even if you think you'll never be in the market for that person's product or services, you just never know.
2. Take notes on the back of each person's business card to remember things like key points of conversation or personal attributes such as "likes football" or "peanut allergy."
3. Keep your business cards nearby--in your pocket, purse, briefcase and car. Business discussions tend to spring up everywhere, from wedding reception halls to supermarkets.
4. Consider rewarding people for referrals, if they pass your business card to someone else and it results in a sale.
5. Print a coupon or discount on the back of your business card, which will encourage people to hold onto it and may spur additional business.

*Remember, you can join the WHY magazine mailing list and have each week's Xtra emailed to you every Monday in pretty colors -- and with a photo!

WHY Xtra: 5 Thoughts on Leadership*

1. "I walk slowly, but I never walk backward. --Abraham Lincoln
2. "Absolute identity with one's cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership." --Woodrow Wilson
3. "In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better." --Harry S. Truman
4. "Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." --John F. Kennedy
5. "Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential." --Barack Obama

Wherever you stand politically, today is a new day, begins a new era, in American politics. All my best to President Barack Obama who, in the face of tremendous challenges, has managed to excite a nation and provide hope to a people suffering through what is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

*Remember, you can join the WHY magazine mailing list and have each week's Xtra emailed to you every Monday in pretty colors -- and with a photo!

WHY Xtra: 5 Ways to Improve Your Focus, #2*

1. Make a “to-do” list. Our homes are full of distractions – laundry, TV, more laundry – and having a written outline of your daily goals can help you stay on task.
2. Declutter your desk or office. It can be difficult to concentrate with stacks of papers and walls of Post-It notes vying for your attention.
3. Play music. If the kids’ laughing (or arguing) is keeping you from concentrating, playing a little music – particularly tunes that you like and know the lyrics to -- can help filter the noise.
4. Grab a snack. Who can focus with a grumbling belly?
5. Take a break. All work and no play can dull Jack’s mind. A quick walk around the block or (gasp!) to the laundry room can change your focus briefly and make you feel refreshed once you return to your desk.

*Remember, you can join the WHY magazine mailing list and have each week's Xtra emailed to you every Monday in pretty colors -- and with a photo!

WHY Xtra: 5 Foolproof Follow-up Tips*

1. Handwrite your follow-up note. Emails are nice, but old-fashioned snail mail – finding a pen, buying a stamp, driving to the post office – shows initiative.
2. Be specific. Cite responsibilities or opportunities discussed during your meeting, so that you can reiterate how your skills are best able to meet them.
3. Be upbeat. Mentioning how “very excited” you are about the prospect of employment or working with someone may be blatant kissing up, but, let’s face it, we all fall for it.
4. Add a personal touch. Referring to something personal discussed, such as your mutual love of golf, can strengthen your impression.
5. Send your note immediately. Keep note cards and stamped envelopes on hand – in your purse or in your car – so that you can mail your follow-up note the same day as your meeting.

*Remember, you can join the WHY magazine mailing list and have each week's Xtra emailed to you every Monday in pretty colors -- and with a photo! Ooh... Ahh...!

WHY Xtra: 5 Pairs of Words Often Confused #2

1. amount/number: Use "amount" with quantities that cannot be counted and "number" with those that can be. She can't believe the amount of knowledge she gains from reading the weekly WHY Xtras. She only has a small number of tips left to read today.
2. lie/lay: "Lie" means to recline, and "lay" means to place something. You can lie down, but lay the book on the table first. Serious confusion arises because the past tense of "lie" is "lay." Yesterday, I laid down because I wasn't feeling well. Dang English!
3. i.e./e.g.: "i.e." means "that is"; "e.g." means "for example." A comma follows both of them.
4. who/that: If the noun you're referring to is a person, always use "who." The man who just walked into the store is wearing no socks.
5. who/whom: Ahhh, the dreaded who/whom. "Who" is the subject of the clause it introduces, and "whom" is used as the object of a preposition. Who is coming to dinner with Lucille? With whom is Lucille coming?

From the WHY Vault*

States of Being: How to Keep Clients Coming Back

• Be reliable. Show up for your appointments, return your emails, answer your phone, send their order, admit when you’ve made a mistake, and put your best foot forward.
• Be real. There’s nothing more appealing to a customer than dealing with someone who is down-to-earth.
• Be available. When a customer places an order, answer questions and fulfill requests in a timely manner. If you are not available, someone else will be.
• Be flexible. In situations where clients disagree with your approach or have a complaint about your process, be flexible and offer a means to rectify the situation.
• Be attentive. The harder a customer has to work to get information from you, the less likely he or she will return.
• Be easy to work with. Life goes more smoothly when you’re friendly and obliging. Develop a reputation of being “easy to work with” and you will build a strong foundation.
• Be specific. It’s much easier to delete information than it is to add it, so be specific about matters like deadlines, project specs, colors and amounts.
• Be curious. Look for interesting things related to the current scope of your clients’ project. Not only will it develop trust and confidence, but it will help to establish you as an authority and a valuable resource.
• Be interested. Everyone who comes to you has the potential to become clients. If you show interest from the beginning — regardless of their “conversion-ability” — you’ve made them feel important. They’ll remember that!
  

--culled from an article by Donna M. Murphy in WHY magazine's july/august 2008 issue

*From time to time, I'll present info from past WHY articles or WHY Xtras in case you missed them the first time around. :)

WHY Xtra: 5 Websites We Love

Here's this week's WHY Xtra, kids:

5 Websites We Love

1. WhoLinksToMe.com. Check out what websites link to yours. C’mon, you know you want to…
2. HelpAReporterOut.com. Sign up and social media meister Peter Shankman emails you 3 times a day with all kinds of queries from a variety of reporters looking for expert sources. Great free marketing tool.
3. Google.com/analytics. Free web analytics to help you improve your site and increase marketing ROI. We check ours first thing every morning.
4. Hulu.com. You can watch your favorite TV shows anytime, anywhere. We try to limit our A-Team and Incredible Hulk viewings to lunchtime.
5. Twitter.com. Many businesses are coming up with all kinds of ways to harness Twitter’s bite-size messages into effective marketing platforms. Join the flock, and follow us at twitter.com/whysgirl.

WHY Xtra: 5 Classic Work-at-Home Schemes

Happy December, kids! Here's this week's WHY Xtra:

5 Classic Work-at-Home Schemes

1. Medical billing. Start your own electronic claim processing at home and make boatloads of money -- for an investment of $2,000 to $8,000! The promoters promise all kinds of support, but rarely do, making it difficult – if not impossible – to find clients and generate revenues.

2. Envelope stuffing. Promoters usually advertise that, for a “small” fee, they will tell you how to earn money stuffing envelopes at home. However, later – when it’s too late – you find out that they never had any employment to offer.

3. Assembly or craft work. These programs often require you to invest hundreds of dollars in equipment or supplies, or they require you to spend many hours producing goods (aprons, baby shoes, etc.) for a company that has promised to buy them. However, after you've purchased the supplies or equipment and performed the work, the scammers don't pay you.

4. Email processing. After charging you for training materials, the company claims to pay about $20 per email for spamming the same ad you responded to.

5. Typing. After paying a fee, you receive a disk with information that tells you how to place home typist ads and sell copies of the disk to others -- like you -- who reply to you. A classic pyramid scheme.

Join the WHY magazine mailing list to have each week's Xtra emailed to you in pretty colors -- and with a photo! Ooh... Ahh...!