This should be a no brainer but you’d be surprised juts how often people think that “I’ve got a website, I’ve added some tags, worked on some SEO, and that should be enough to get traffic to my site.” The sad truth is that this method will get you traffic, but organic growth is so slow that by the time you’re noticed the competition will have left you in the dust. You could of course spend hard money on AdWords and other ad solutions, but why not give these methods a go before you dive into those pockets for that oh so needed cash.

1. Submit your start up to relevant sources, the list below comes from – marketingstartups.com and we thank them dearly, you can find the link to the whole article here.

• KillerStartups.com- Use their online form (http://www.killerstartups.com/submitted)
• Launchfeed.com- Use this site to announce the launch of your service. Not as important on the site itself, but other sites subscribe to launchfeed and use the info on their blogs.
• Simplespark- Another source of what’s new online
• MOMB- (Museum of Modern Betas)- A site listing new apps
• Go2Web20.net- A flash directory of startups that actually delivers some fairly decent traffic.
• TechCrunch- The grandaddy of internet startup blogs. You can enter your information here: http://www.crunchbase.com/companies/new
• CenterNetworks- Another great web 2.0 blog
• mashable!- Awesome blog covering all that’s new on the web. Read this post before submitting your site: http://mashable.com/2008/04/10/get-your-startup-on-mashable/
• ReadWriteWeb- http://www.readwriteweb.com/contact.php
• Blogstring.com and MarketingStartups.com- Hey, it’s easy. Just contact me (nathan.burke@gmail.com), let me know what you do, and if your site or service is relevant, I’ll review it here.

2. E-mail everyone you know and their mother, tell them about your product and how good it is and how it will change the face of mankind forever, and elaborate on how much wonderful karma they’ll get if they basically start a chain letter from it. Is it spam? Well loosely yes, but the trickle effect should get you a decent initial user base, and your friends won’t really hate you for it in the long run.

3. Socialize the heck out of it. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, post on forums, write a brief about it on EZineArticles, HubPages, and make a Blogger Site or two that links back to your site, and while you’re at it, add a Wikipedia entry. Not only will this increase your exposure, but it will also help in building back-links to your site, which will in the end help you generate traffic to your site, and spread the word on your product. Oh, and get Wibiya on your site, they recently opened it up to everyone.

4. Network as if your job depended on it, because it does. Most cities have entrepreneurial events that are held quite frequently, look on sites such as Meetup.com, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others to find out where they’re being held, if people like your stuff, they’ll spread the word, never, ever, underestimate the power of networking, and you may even get to know people who in one way or other could help you.

5. Send out press releases to everyone and anyone who may be interested. Write one and then email your local newspaper(s), magazines that cover your industry, websites, and bloggers.

6. Targeted SPAM. We hate it as much as the next guy, but targeted e-mail ad campaigns are one of the most effective ways to communicate what it is you’re selling / doing / building etc….

With that, good luck, and let us know if you have any other ideas on getting your site noticed. We’d love to hear them.

Believe it. Google has more recently than not launched a new service allowing for next to anyone to buy ad airtime on TV, and it’s part of AdWords. Google TV Ads works very similarly to the current AdWords, you log in with your existing Google account, upload an ad 15, 30 second, etc… name your price, place it in a network and time slot, and boom there you go. Your home made ad is now on TV.

Of course getting your advertisement during a top rated show such as the Simpsons, South Park, or similar is going to cost you a heavy penny as you’ll be competing for airtime with large advertising companies, multinationals brands, etc… and in all as a startup, it’s probably not the most effective manner in which you can spend you ad dollars, but nonetheless, an ad during off peak may be just what you’re looking for.

Though we can’t really vouch for the effectiveness of the service, in the video that we’ve included from from SlateV on using the new service, they explain that from the one million people who saw the advert only about 1000+ actually typed in the address, making a click through of 0.1%, and for the $1300 they spent on the ad campaign, that makes a potential customer acquisition cost of $1.30. Worth it? Perhaps not for SalteV, but all the same it was just a test ad, and I’m sure that if a company were to offer a service that the TV viewer could use there and then i.e. price promotions, etc… the customer retention would in fact be higher.

Do note though, that “Google TV Ads are available only to advertisers located in the United States who pay in U.S. dollars. We can’t take advertisers from outside the U.S. just yet, and we can’t offer direct debit or prepay as payment options. In addition, advertisers must set up billing prior to initiating a TV Campaign. – Google“

How do I send out a press release? When should I send out a press release? If you’ve had these questions keep reading.

If you’re a Coca Cola, or a Microsoft, you get your PR department to do it, but if you’re the little guy, it’s not so clear. If you’re thinking social media, great, it’s a good way of getting to people to follow your website and actively engage you – but all the same depends on your business. If you’re a company that makes a new type of ultralight environmentally friendly piston for lawnmowers a facebook fan page will probably not do you too much good.

So chances are you you think you need to publish a press release but don’t really know where to start. OK. First thing’s first do you need a press release? Ask yourself why your company is putting one out, did you jut secure financing, did you just develop a new product, was there a major change in the company somehow.

The second is how do you go about getting your press release out there? If you have friends at PR agencies invite them out for a coffee and discuss how you could get the most exposure, chances are they’ll know someone who just started their own PR agency and is looking for clients. This is a great way to tap into industry specific news. But what if you don’t know anyone or can’t hire a PR guy due to a general lack of funds.

Well in this case you’re stuck with a free press release distribution website. Clearly the benefits of using one of these is that they’re “free”, however free also means the quality of service just won’t be as good. With that – also remember – that utilizing a press release websites you’ll need to consider keywords, SEO and all the other web-type stuff. A good checklist for press releases online can be found here.

Once you’re done with your press release, visit any of these websites, sign up with some non-pivotal email i.e. webpressrelease@YOURCOMPANY.com, as we’re sure you’ll receive some spam, and send them out, don’t be shy – send your press release to all of them.

Press Release Distribution Websites

: 24-7 Press Release
: 1888 Press Release
: Click Press
: Express Press Release – From the onset looks U.S. only, and limited to major states
: Free Press Release
: Free Press Release Center
: i-Newswire
: Newswire Today * – recommended
: PR.com
: PR9.net
: PR Inside – German & English
: PR Buzz
: PR Leap
: PR Log
: PR Urgent
: Press About
: Press Method
: Press Release Point
: The Open Press

E-commerce Only
: Ecommerce Wire

With that done, you should also consider contacting bloggers with your industry focus, they often have active large readerships and will undoubtedly help spread the word on whatever it is you’re releasing to the press.

With that we have a request of our community. If you could provide us with press release distribution websites in languages other than English, we would be very very grateful.

“Xavier Flores (ESADE MBA, ‘09) is one of the founders and the Managing Partner for Latin America and Europe for The XV Global Development Group, a Barcelona-based company that develops strategies and provides support, investment and fund-raising for the international growth of Spanish SMEs through our global network of trustworthy collaborations and strategic alliances”

For many, business school provide knowledge and experiences that go beyond books and lectures, for others who have no interest in business school this knowledge can be hard to attain, and often results in years of on the job learning. However, that’s not to say that when winding down after a long work session you can’t hone your skills in some of the more vital business material that can help you better manage your startup.

Although the recommendations here do not cover all possible subjects included in most MBA programs, they do complement many of the topics learned in Business Schools around the world. Here is a brief description of some film-supported teachings that every budding entrepreneur should learn.

Subject: Entrepreneurship

Startup.com: (2001; Directed by Chris Hegedus and Jehane Noujaim; Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, Tom Herman, Kenneth Austin, et al) Topics covered: Finance for entrepreneurs, capital raising, growth management, entrepreneurship skills, team building, management skills…

Catch Me If You Can
(2002; Directed by Steven Spielberg; Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks) Topics covered: Entrepreneurship skills, creativity and innovation, perseverance, business vision, personal sales techniques, entrepreneurial funding sources…

Lord Of War
(2005; Directed by Andrew Niccol; Nicolas Cage, Bridget Moynahan, Jared Leto, et al) Topics covered: Entrepreneurship skills, emerging markets, creative problem solving, crisis management, negotiation techniques, building customer loyalty, competitive strategies, geopolitics…

Subject: Finance

Wall Street
(1987; Directed by Oliver Stone; Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, et al). Topics covered: Corporate finance, portfolio management, capital markets, investment law principles, mergers and acquisitions, company valuations, business ethics…

Rogue Trader
(1999; Directed by James Dearden; Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel, Yves Beneyton) Topics covered: Derivatives, corporate valuation, financial reporting, capital markets, emerging markets, business ethics…

Subject: Human Resources Management

The Office – v.UK
(2001; Directed by Rick Gervais and Stephen Merchant; Rick Gervais, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook, et al). Topics covered: Personnel management, recruitment, crisis management, empowerment and delegation, employee appraisals, corporate culture, multi-team integration, sexual harassment, non-discrimination policies, conflict resolution, negotiations skills…

Twelve Angry Men
(1957; Directed by Sidney Lumet; Henry Fonda, Edward Binns, Lee J. Cobb, et al) Topics covered: Negotiations techniques, persuasion methods, conflict resolution, consensus building…

Office Space
(1999; Directed by Mike Judge; Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman, Gary Cole, et al) Topics covered: Corporate culture, mentoring, career development, leadership, work-life balance, personnel retention, team-building techniques, management of information technology…

Subject: Corporate Strategy

The Godfather Trilogy
(1972, 1974 & 1990; Directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Rober deNiro, et al). Topics covered: Competitive strategies, key personnel retention, corporate take-overs (friendly and hostile), alliances, mergers and acquisitions, corporate succession, long-term corporate diversification…

The Usual Suspects
(1995; Directed by Bryan Singer; Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, et al) Topics covered: Leadership consolidation, power and influence, long-term business strategy, collaboration, risk-and-reward compensation, entrepreneurial skills, innovation and creativity, consolidation of branding, marketing, operations and logistic planning and execution…

Subject: Accounting and Financial Reporting

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
(2005; Directed by Alex Elkind; Peter Coyote as Narrator) Topics covered: Accounting reporting (basic, advanced and innovative), consolidation of reports, off-shore diversification, off-balance sheet accounting, agency problem, business ethics…

Subject: Marketing and Sales

How To Get Ahead In Advertising
(1989; Directed by Bruce Robinson; Richard Wilson, Rachel Ward, et al) Topics covered: Marketing strategy, advertising know-how, market segmentation, branding…

The Devil Wears Prada
(2006; Directed by David Frankel; Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, et al) Topics covered: Branding, sales techniques, importance of print media, career development…

Thank You For Smoking
(2005; Directed by Jason Reitman; Aaron Eckhart, J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall, et al) Topics covered: Public relations, marketing and advertising campaigns, crisis management, corporate communications, effective negotiations skills…

Glengarry Glen Ross
(1992; Directed by James Foley; Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, et al) Topics covered: Sales techniques, customer relationship management, negotiations and deal closings…

Subject: Law

The Merchant of Venice
(2004; Directed by Michael Radford; Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, et al) Topics covered: Contract negotiations, mercantile law, risk assessment, business law principles…

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
(1964; Directed by Stanley Kibrick; Peter Sellers, Geroge C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, et al) Topics covered: International relations, geopolitics, influence and leadership…

Subject: Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics

Erin Brockovich
(2000; Directed by Steven Soderbergh; Julia Roberts, David Brisbin, et al) Topics covered: Social responsibility, sustainable business models…

Rainmaker
(1997; Directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, et al) Topics covered: Social responsibility, business ethics, business law…

Think there’s something vital missing? Let us know.

While twitter is nearly everywhere these days, many people still consider themselves naysayers. These individuals don’t really understand what the platform can do, most people will just assign a basic social network narcissistic assumption to twitter, and sure there are millions of people who use it for nothing more than to tell the uninterested world about the lack of a C in their alphabet soup, but what Twitter truly excels at s information distribution.

Simply look at the impact it had in Iran a month back, information was relayed in seconds across the globe, I think at one point in time a notable western news and media outlet just told people to head to twitter for updates and news, then look at the death of Michael Jackson, the first to know were twitterites and facebookers. It’s information gone global.

And what a business tool this little platform is coming out to be, at this month’s Drink Tank – I met an interesting fellow, Jason Barett from TwitJobs – a company that distributes job postings via twitter; effectively an internet company they’ve been profitable since day one, which assuming some of you who read this will understand is quite the task.

So what am I saying? This platform is turning out to become quite the business tool, from sharing information regarding links, benefits, contests, to anything that will grab the user’s attention, and if you’ve got your company, or are thinking about starting one, use it! It helps, it works, and most importantly it will bring you traffic, and make you money, so use it. But remember, like anything you can use it right, and use it wrong. So for a final sum up, here’s five tips on how to use twitter in the business world.

1. Make your followers want something, create a desire. Updates are useless.
2. Be constant, have something flowing naturally.
3. Provide interesting content, links, and services.
4. Monetize it. How? Google search it, but you can always sell ads via your twitter account as well
5. Don’t over do it. Twitter can be addicting, focus on your main business, unless of course your main business is twitter based, then focus on that.

And that’s that!