New York SBDC Research Network

$100,000 Scholarship Program In April, we started partnering with Skillshare on  a series of educational classes about email marketing . It’s been fun and effective, so we’re excited to help Skillshare with a new project to further empower small businesses. Together, we‘ll be  awarding $100,000 in annual scholarships  granting small business owners access to Skillshare’s full educational catalog. Skillshare offers hundreds of business courses with experts like Seth Godin, Simon Sinek, and Lisa Congdon—plus 4 courses from MailChimp all about email marketing. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, small business owner, or a marketer, investing in education is a great way to grow your business, and Skillshare can help.

Ads are sometimes relevant, but often still blocked Ad blocking has been around for a long time, but digital advertisers and publishers are seeing it as an increasing problem. Research suggests that a solid majority of internet users ages 18 to 34 are now blocking ads when they view digital content Read more at Emarketer

You’ve validated your business idea, you’ve done your market research, and hopefully you’ve registered your business name. Now it’s time for the fun stuff. If you’ve ever wondered how to build a brand for your business, you’ve come to the right place. Work through these exercises each day and in less than a week, you’ll have a good sense of not only how you are uniquely positioned to compete with others, but also how to convey your brand message to the world. If you know you have to build your brand but aren’t quite sure of the reasons why, it’s worth reading our article on 4 Reasons to Brand Your Business, as well as Want Customer Loyalty? Build Your Brand. Now you know that branding really is a necessary step to starting a business, you can get to work. The infographic below is intended to be worked through as you might an exercise. Originally we ran it as a five-day challenge; if that’s how you’d prefer to read it, you can find each of the challenge days here. Read more at Bplan...

7.9% say they are likely to purchase products advertised on mobile Mobile shopping and advertising have caught on quickly in the US. While younger mobile users appreciate the convenience of smartphones for shopping, baby boomers are less sure. And they're a lot more sure they don't like ads on their devices. Read more at: emarketer

Considering becoming a consultant? Here are 10 tips: 1. Take it seriously Do it right. Stay mindful of the old adage about a consultant being somebody who is between jobs. Avoid making that impression. Have a website and business cards. Establish a social media presence as a consulting business. Don’t let your clients or potential clients doubt you. Read more at bplans

From the outside, we know spam when we see it: links in comments that have nothing to do with conversations, emails that we didn’t ask for and aren’t interested in, and constant, high pressure attempts to sell, sell, sell. But from the inside, it can be harder to tell if the marketing we’re doing is spammy or responsible. Oh, sure, there are some easy clues. If you’re copying and pasting the same comment on a dozen websites, you definitely need to take a long look at the integrity of your tactics. Just to have a profile or post random things on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn is not marketing. But if you’re truly not sure, how do you determine whether or not you’re spamming? Read more at Bplans

It may not sound exciting, but it is important, especially if you’re taking your business’s marketing into your own hands. It’s also important to note that there are differences in terms of what laws apply between sending out a physical mailer to a mailbox, and sending an email. Most of the requirements of U.K. and U.S. anti-spam legislation will be met if you follow these two guidelines: Don’t mislead your customers, and make sure that you are collecting your customers’ private information legally. But, there are a few more things you need to keep in mind, so let’s begin. In the U.S., general advertising laws apply, but there is no specific legislation for the content of direct or mail marketing. Read more at Bplans