ask the expert | How can I make my call to action more compelling?

today we have a guest post from our expert partner in coywriting: anne maybus from clever streak, answering a very important question...

How can I make my call to action more compelling?

If you are wondering why the orders aren’t coming in thick and fast, perhaps you need to take a look at your call to action.   It could be that you don’t even have one.

I think too many of us believe that a good call to action is hard to write but really, all you have to do is ask people to do something.  Think about it.  How hard is it to say “Please Share” on your Facebook post?  It’s not hard at all and yet it brings a great response.  Try it.

When you want people to take a specific action, you have to tell them what to do.  Make it easy for people. The more specific you are, the more likely it is that they will do as you ask.

Ooh I bet you are tempted to click that, aren’t you?

It’s got some good things going for it. 

It is visible.  It’s big and clear with a button coloured in that urgent fire brigade red that makes fingers itch as soon as you look at it.  Even the text is big and easy to read.

It uses clear, simple wording.  No big words, no confusion.  It has a simple message that tells the reader what to do.

It offers a reason to click. Those ‘click here’ and ‘buy now’ buttons have their place but there is more to a call to action than that.  Give your readers a reason to push the button (or take that action) by showing them the benefits.  It’s the answer to the “what’s in it for me” question.  The report is targeted at people who aren’t succeeding with their current calls to action and the thought going through their heads is ‘What am I doing wrong?’ so that is what I have tapped into.

Choose your words.  A touch of urgency is a good thing.  Strong words like ‘NOW’ or ‘Ending Soon’ add some pressure to the call.  Just don’t use them on every call because it can look very salesy.

Position it carefully.  Make it obvious and keep it towards the top of your page where it will be seen as soon as the reader lands.  Don’t crowd the area around it with text or competing images.  It needs to stand alone.  Depending on what the call to action refers to, you might consider putting it on every page of your site. Pop over to MailChimp and have a look at their pages.  They’ve placed a button on their most important pages.  At any time the reader decides they are interested there is a clear step to take right there in front of them. 

Now, there is another step involved here.  That big button up there is designed to take you to a page where I can encourage you to give me your details in exchange for my free report.  That means your call to action has to be hyperlinked.   You’d be surprised at how often I’ve clicked on a call to action only to find that it doesn’t work or that it takes me to the wrong place.   Straight away you’ve lost me.  I know this seems like an obvious thing to think about but it only takes one page to be renamed or moved and your link is broken.

So now it’s your turn to take action.  Go over and look at your website.  Do you have a call to action?  If you do and it isn’t working, start crafting a new one.  Test and test again until you create one that hits the nail on the head.

Anne Maybus has a mission to banish the dullness from business writing. She believes that your business deserves to have personality shining out of every word. She writes content that catches your reader by the eye and pulls them pupil-first into the wonderful world of your business. Visit cleverstreak.com and on facebook and twitter too.

expert post | Way to Grow

today we have an awesome guest post from our expert partner in planning & strategy, megan gallagher of method & madness. i am really needing these tips right now, how about you?

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think that getting started is the hardest part of owning your own business.

In reality, it’s the growing that can stop you dead in your tracks.

There are so many directions your business model can go in, sketches and product ideas you have ready to make, and dreams that you want to make into reality. That’s a lot of high-pressure decision making on your shoulders, no? I know I’ve felt that way before with my own business—completely unsure of which way to go; so I stood at the proverbial intersection way longer than I needed to. And that cost me in terms of money, developing new business, and in my general health.  Stress is not good.

What I’ve learned since then, and we’re going to talk about today, is that knowledge really & truly is power. To grow your business is to know your business. And hopefully by the end of this post you’ll be ready to get up close & personal with your own indie business—and grow it in a sustainable, smart, and profitable way.

We can really boil this whole issue down to one question:  what should I (really) focus on?

(If we can all be honest here, doesn’t the thought of “focusing” itself kind of stress out your creative mind already?)

So, let’s redefine our idea of focus:  instead of linear, single-minded thinking and having to choose “that one thing” to put our attention to, let’s look at focus as creating a minimal structure to create a maximum of creative space.

(That feels better, no?)

To create a minimal structure requires your due diligence, first and foremost. Which means: do some homework. Grade your product lines by how much revenue they generate for you, and by how your customers responded to them.  Did they help to build your brand name or do you really need to go back to the drawing board for a few of them?  You may ask why this is important.  Here it is:

If you can use this knowledge to build more income from your existing line, think of how much time you can spend (without any stress or guilt or worry about making money) just being creative. Like, for the fun of it.

Know what product is your #1 money-maker? Find a way to make more of it.

The next thing to do is get a little ruthless.  Cut away the excess that isn’t doing anything for you but taking up space in your life. Make room for new ideas to come to the forefront, and give yourself the space to redesign what could be better.

The other element that will help sharpen your focus is your mission. Every product sketch, idea, and initiative you want to take in your business should be filtered through your mission statement.  If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t pass go.

Your mission is your very best barometer of whether or not to put your energy on a particular task or idea.

If you don’t have a clear mission yet, that should be the very first thing you work on.  If you don’t know why you’ve gone into business, you’ll be out sooner than later. The mission is what drives you, and keeps you pushing forward when the deck seems stacked against you.  No mission leaves you with scattered energy and no momentum. You stay still instead of moving forward. 

So:  Know your mission. Analyze your business. Grow from what you know. Trim the fat. Find your focus…

…And grow an amazing indie business!

Hey—did you know you can work with me one-on-one to design your perfect product line? Check out the Single Shot Sessions for a personalized 60 minute coaching call around your unique product line.

Megan Gallagher is small-business strategist working with creative indiepreneurs over at Method & Madness. She works with a diverse creative clientele through one-on-one strategy sessions, small group workshops, and the DIY guides now available on her website.

an image is worth 1000 words. what will you say with yours?

they say an image is worth a thousand words.

and if we look at what is happening in social media right now, i believe that statement has never been more true! consider:

• the unprecedented rise in popularity of Pinterest
• the popularity of photo apps like Instagram that double as social media networks 
• the emphasis that Facebook places on images for what people see in their newsfeeds
• the new Facebook timelines which have made images stand out even more
• the fact that Facebook just purchased Instagram which suggests that the emphasis on images is not changing any time soon
• the migration of Google’s online photo editor Picnik over to Google+ to allow for easy editing and customization of images right on your Google+ profile

we are living in a visual world! and if you are not already making great use of images for marketing your business, you are missing out on a fantastic opportunity. images are very easy for your fans to share, pin, tweet, embed, and print so they are a fantastic tool for spreading the word about your business. 

one great way to add images to your social media marketing is to outsource to another little biz (for instance i create images & graphics at my little biz smile.play.love.)

but for you DIY types, there are also many online tools that you can use; with a little bit of time and exploration you can start creating great images for your biz right away.

here are 20 places you can create images & graphics for your biz:

• take creative photos with your smartphone/tablet using apps like instagram or pixlr-o-matic;

the image above was taken on my android phone using the instagram app. the text was added with pixlr

• edit, enhance, and add text to photos using online photo editors like pixlr or picmonkey

 

i popped one of my favorite beach photos into pic monkey and added the frame and text.

• turn any text into a sharable graphic with share as image

Source: shareasimage.com via Karen on Pinterest

i just popped the quote from this post into the share as image app and pinned it. the free version only gives you white and grey, the paid version gives you font & colour options. 

• have some fun creating word art with wordle or tagxedo

i just popped some of the text from this post into the wordle app then played with the colours and fonts and let me tell you, this one is so fun! the tagxedo app looks very cool too.

• make a photo collage makers with ippicy or photovisi or pic collage

the collage option in ipiccy will let you do collages like this. 

• or create a style collage using polyvore

 

Use somebody by maggielovelace featuring crewneck sweaters

image from the polyvore site

• create an image slideshow using smilebox

i haven't tested this one yet, but i have a few ideas brewing...

• make your own funny meme on a biz related topic with meme generator or someecards

Source: ohhyouprettythings.com via Karen on Pinterest

this image is an example of what you can create at someecards- choose your image, your colour, and add your own text.

• turn your best tips, instructions, or steps into an infographic with visual.ly or piktochart

Source: scoop.it via Karen on Pinterest

this is an example of a infographic. i haven't tried making one myself using these apps, but again i have some ideas brewing!

• build a flow chart or visual map with mind-mapping tools like text2mindmap or mindomo or mindmeister

i just quickly popped some ideas into the text2mindmap app, really quick and simple. 

• print images & graphics on mini-cards along with your biz name to take the sharing off line - try moo

Source: us.moo.com via Karen on Pinterest

in one pack of mini-cards you can print out a pack of cards using multiple images or quotes (upload your own or choose from theirs.)

no matter what type of business you have, you can enhance your marketing by using interesting, inspiring, funny, entertaining, informative, or beautiful images.

pop in to my biz page smile.play.love. to share what you create. i would love to see it and will like/share/pin it for you too! =)

more reading:

• 20 ways to make your service business more pinnable
• CLICK! how to use images to market your biz
• 15 tips for using pinterest as a way to build your little biz
• 5 free apps to have some fun with your photos

How You Can Find Your Passion and Profit From It

FREE webinar with WE Mastermind coach Natalie Sisson | How You Can Find Your Passion and Profit From It | 8pm AEST Wed May 16th | register here

 

i get asked all the time how to go about creating a business by doing what you love.

how do you monetize your passions and turn it into products or services that you and others profit from?

how do you go about building that into a thriving business you can run from anywhere?

my lovely friend Natalie Sisson is incredibly passionate about giving women the skills, knowledge and platform from which to play a much bigger game while creating their ideal lifestyle.

she has built a profitable 6 figure online businesses that allows her to work from anywhere in the world (she is in South Africa at the moment, finishing an epic, cross continent bike ride!)

like me, she believes it’s high-time that more women start building profitable online businesses based on what they already know, what they're good at and what they love doing.

i’m really excited to say that Natalie Sisson is joining me for a free webinar to share with us some valuable tips on turning your passion into profit.

here is what we will learn:

• why there has never been a better time than now to capitalize on the huge opportunities offered by the internet – especially as a woman
• what are the most profitable info-products that you can sell that generate the highest commissions in the next 60 days
• how to create your own products and make money marketing your passion
• how to create your own products even if you aren't the expert by using others knowledge and credibility
• how to create multiple-streams of income with many different types of products
• real life examples of women doing this right now – from beginner through to experts!

so make sure you register right away and we can’t wait to see you on the webinar!

PS just for attending Natalie will send you a copy of their Product Launch Blueprint and i will send you a written summary of the top tips we share. (so even if you aren’t in the right timezone, register anyways to get your blueprint & summary.)

spots are limited so make sure you register for this webinar taking place on May 16 th at 8pm AEST  - register here - it's free! 

also, you can click here to watch the WE Mastermind free video series on how to find your "sweet spot" & build an online business around your passion.

5 Reasons to Create an Information Product for Your Little Biz Today

today we have a guest post from melissa vandermeer of zayth - a new online marketplace for moms who want to rock out their life, and are looking for the information that will help! 

Do you want to infuse your little biz with an instant dose of energy?

Do you want to build your mailing list and attract thousands of targeted customers?

Do you want to be viewed as an expert in your niche? 

Do you want a new way to market your business?

Well, my friend, you need an information product that delivers, is kickass awesome, and reflects your business ideals and values perfectly.

And before you say “But, I can’t really write an eBook to go with my biz!” consider this: an information product does not have to be an eBook! You could create a short guide, a checklist, a printable planning sheet, a podcast, a webinar, a course delivered over a few days or weeks, a how to, a directory… the possibilities are endless. Just think of what information your customers would need, and then think of how you could package it and deliver it.

Here are 5 great reasons to put your head down and create an information product that will take your small business to the next level:

1. Achieve Expert Status

First and foremost, an information product is an effective way of achieving the expert status that most business owners want. If you’re in a competitive niche, chances are you’re a small fish in a big pond. Putting together a seriously awesome information product will help you stand out, share your knowledge, and establish your expertise in the industry.

2. Provide Value to Your Customers

Next and most importantly, you will be adding a lot of value to the relationship you have with your existing customers. They will not only come to recognize and know the person behind the brand and business, but will also glean a lot of useful information from your information product.

Let’s say you’re in the cloth diapering industry. This is a niche that is quite small and competitive. By creating a series of podcasts or, even a series of small but well-organized eBooks, you can easily establish expert status AND help your customers know more about cloth diapering. Alternatively, you could put together a free cloth diapering eCourse for new moms and help them identify the best cloth nappy for their baby and lifestyle, as well as how to use, wash and care for cloth nappies.

3. Reach Newer Audiences

While you would be adding value to existing customer relationships, you will also be reaching new target audiences thanks to your information product. Yes, you see, content-rich and well-organized information products are often shared widely.

Karen recently put together a series of inspiring and awesome ‘little biz’ graphics that reflect what she feels passionately about – the little biz, the mumpreneur’s biz, the eco biz, and more. She spent time and effort to create these graphics and then, gave them away to us. And what did we do? We shared them. On Facebook, on Pinterest, on our own blogs.  Yes, we helped spread Karen’s awesomeness far and wide and led more mums with little biz’ straight to her virtual doorstep!

4. Easy, Effortless Marketing

Creating a free information product is an easy way to market your business. For instance, you create an eBook. You set it up with your email service so that anyone who signs up automatically gets that eBook. Simple, stress-free, and successful marketing. 

5. Free Advertising for Your Business 

Finally, the information product you create carries your unique branding. It reflects your business values and ideals. It’s infused with your passion for your niche. It makes the perfect ad for your little biz on a little budget. Your brand, business name and, of course, information reaches thousands of potential, interested customers with virtually no cost at all. Why would you pass up this opportunity?

Bonus: Make Some Extra Money

Yes, you can consider selling your information product and actually make some money in the process. Diversification or products and building multiple sources of income are key when you’re a small biz, so why not add information products to your list of offerings? You establish expertise, reach newer markets, and make money in the process. Plus these are great passive forms of income; once you create them and set up the system to sell/deliver them your work is done. Win!

So, what’s holding you back from creating an information product to build your little biz? Add your comments - we can address them in a future post!

Creating an information product for your little biz? Sign up here for the Zayth newsletter and let us help you sell more of it! Melissa Vandermeer is the founder of Zayth, an online, virtual storefront for digital products and services. Launching in May 2012, Zayth will be your go-to, one-stop resource for eBooks, eCourses, and services. Pop over to the facebook page to say hi!

are you feeling stuck with your little biz?

are you feeling stuck with your biz? do you love your product, but feel like you just don’t know how to get the word out about your business? do you feel like the strategies you are using just aren’t working, but you have no idea what to do next?

you are not alone! i hear this exact sentiment over and over from my clients and my readers. for most of us, our product idea was the catalyst that got us into biz but ‘the rest of the biz stuff’ is overwhelming!

start by taking a look at what you are doing so far:

• does your pricing allow you to really make a profit (after you consider the number of hours you spend on making the product, marketing the product, selling & packaging & sending the product... as well as all of your costs of doing biz)?
• does your pricing really demonstrate the value you offer, your expertise and your worth?
• do you have a specific target audience in mind when you market your business?
• do you understand what values, needs, problems, fears and desires they have?
• do you understand the true benefits of your product? the things that you are really selling?
• do you have a point of difference for your business or a way of positioning yourself that is different?
• do you clearly communicate the ways in which your product meets needs, overcomes fears and stands out?
• do you come up with marketing strategies and sales methods that are specific to the benefits of your product, the brand message that you send, the ideal customer you are targeting? 
• do you get excited about marketing your biz and selling your products? are you selling your passion?

if any of your answers are “no” “not really” “i don’t think so” or “i don’t know” then that might explain why you are feeling stuck!

• if you have been going along with an ‘if i build it, they will come’ approach to your biz…
• if you are putting your biz ‘out there’ and just expecting customers to find you and love your thing and buy it…
• if you are choosing marketing strategies and sales methods based on whatever feels easy or whatever everyone else is doing…
• if you are uncomforatable marketing and selling your products (it feels yucky, difficult, or just plain scary)...

...then you are probably going to find that it is difficult to really make a success of your biz.

perhaps it is time to get serious about your little biz. perhaps it is time to look at the other parts of your business, besides the fact that you really love the thing you sell! while that may have been what got you started, a business is made up of a lot more than that.

and until you get all of those components working together, and working for you, you will probably stay stuck. just sayin’…

i want to help you get unstuck and i know my workshops will help you. so to offer as much help as i can, i have a special offer on for MAY/JUNE 2012.

if you have a question about your biz - book in for an email workshop. get your choice of brainstorms (to promote your biz or use facebook for biz) for free. you can even read the ebook first and then ask a specific question about implementing it for your biz, if you like.

if you have a few questions or want to really tackle a problem - book in for a skype workshop. get your choice of any ebook PLUS membership to the building site for free (ebooks = blueprints: build a framework, brand, blog, or newsletter & brainstorms: promote your biz or facebook for biz)

if you have already purchased a brainstorm or blueprint send me an email. i will give you a discount code for a skype or email workshop so that you can get a little help as you build a little biz. 

note: there will be a limited number of spots for these workshops - first in, best dressed! =)

steal these ideas | stand out with video marketing

did you know? youtube is the number 2 search engine after google. and video is one of the most underused marketing strategies by little businesses. yes, a there are a lot of bloggers & information providers using video, but are your competitors or the complementary businesses in your niche?

if not, then video could be a great way to stand out amongst the competition, to improve your SEO, to connect with your customers, and have some fun with your marketing.

the other great thing about video is that they are immensely sharable! awesome videos get liked, pinned, tweeted, shared, and viewed multiple times; so if you make a good one you can increase your word of mouth marketing even as you engage with fans, answer objections, offer expertise, and build SEO – all at once!

ah, but the question is "what the heck would i do with my video?" here are some examples & ideas to inspire you…

tell a story, like rocking green

this is a great example of a video that just uses images, text, and music but is still powerful. you don’t need to be a ‘talking head’ in a video!

inspire people, like danielle laporte

i want to watch this video every day. give your customers & fans something that makes them feel uplifted, motivated, encouraged, not alon, or just plain freaking awesome.

be memorable, like megan auman

lots of steel (jewelry) from megan auman on Vimeo.

this video is short and simple, but megan shows what she does in a really cute way. you can see another one from mgean here in her about page; in that one i love how she shares her WHY, as well as her expertise & talent, and the process that goes into her work.

help people, like marie forleo

marie’s videos are one of the few i consistently watch because she offers concrete help (no ‘if you just buy my thing you will get the answer) but she is also fun to watch, and you feel like you get to know her. (you can see all of marie's awesome videos here on 'marie tv' and you can sign up for her FREE 4 part video series which goes more in depth into rocking your online marketing - find that here.)

entertain, like dollar shave club

i have shared this video before in my post on ‘make me feel good about my purchase’ but i couldn’t write about video marketing and not include it. you will want to share it with someone. trust. and isn’t that what you would want with your videos?

some awesome resources to tell you about...

as always, i ONLY recommend resources that i believe are helpful and worth your investment of time and money! and i do believe that you need to invest in yourself and your biz, so find the right people to help you!

181 awesome ideas to promote your biz & build some buzz

by popular demand, i have spiffed up the ideas shared in our recent online workshop and have made this huge brainstorm available to everyone. (by spiffed up i mean i organized all of the ideas into categories and searched for helpful resources to link to as well.) the list has gone from my original 103 ideas, to 175 after the workshop, to 181 once i finished 'spiffing' and i will probably add to it again one day!

the ideas are the result of 2 years of researching and bookmarking awesome ideas, as well as expanding on those contribued by the workshop participants. it is more than 'just a list' as i have added links to articles, blog posts & examples wherever possible, so that you can get the help you need implementing whichever of the ideas you choose. 

readers are always asking me 'how do i promote my business' so this list is surely a fantastic starting point!

click here to read what's inside.

the $100 start up - only 72 hour - mega package

the ONLY72 boys have done it again! this year they have a huge package to help you kick ass with your biz.

the $100 startup package looks AWESOME! $1005 worth of biz resources for just $100 - but only for 72 hours, so get on it now.

you get:

• 8 downloadable business training courses valued at $1,005

-Better blogging
-Creating a passion-based business
-Freelancing, writing and art (including turning your hobby into a business)
-Building confidence and courage
-Sales and advertising (including ethical selling that works!)
-Technology and systems

• plus 1 print copy of Chris Guillieabeau's The $100 Startup shipped to your door anywhere in the world

as someone who has bought one of the  72hour packages that has been offered in the past, i can attest to what great value it is. i had one major product/strategy to focus on for each month of the year, and a few left over as extras, for a very small investment of money. i was thrilled! if you are thinking you need some help with your biz, but like to DIY and work through at your own pace - this is perfect for you!

click here to read the full details of the 18 resources you get in the package.*

WE mastermind

the natalies (natalie sisson & natalie macneil) have opened up their free video series once again to help women entrepreneurs find that sweet spot between their knowledge, passion and expertise and package that into products and services that allow them to create profitable online businesses which allow them to lead the lifestyle they deserve. doesn't that sound awesome? they will be opening their incredible WE mastermind course for 2012 and the free videos are an awesome opportunity to get some tips for your biz but also checking out what the natalies have to offer. 

click here to sign up for the free video series*

*affiliate link. if you purchase a product from one of the fabulous champions of women in biz that i recommendt, it supports build a little biz too. that way i can keep helping you as much as i possibly can! i am only an affiliate/sponsor for people and products i love, and i only recommend things that i believe in. 

ask the expert | Do I Need to Register My Trademark?

today i have asked Jacqui Pryor from Mark My Words Trademark Services to provide us with a little "TRADEMARK 101".  i recently had a new biz very closely mimic my biz name and branding, and jacqui was kind enough to answer my questions about brand protection, so i know this post will help all little biz owners! 

Trademark Registration = Brand Protection!

So you’ve invested time, money, blood, sweat and no doubt some tears into coming up with the perfect name for your business or product or the perfect logo that tells customers who you are (I know I did!)... but how do you protect them to make sure they are yours and remain yours? The answer is simple – register your distinctive names, logos, slogans and other ‘signs’ as trademarks!

Whilst the answer is simple, the area of trademarks can be complicated and often misunderstood. There are so many things to consider and understand about trademarks and trademark registration in order to successfully protect your brands. To explain every aspect in this post could see me writing for days and you reading for days, so I hope to address some of the ‘main’ points in this post. I invite you to read our full Guide to Australian Trademark Registration for an in depth look at the process.

What is a Trademark?

Technically, a trademark exists whether registered or not. It is any ‘sign’ that you use as a badge of origin for your goods or services – the distinct element that ‘brands’ your products and business as yours and separates them from others. It can be a name, image, slogan, colour, scent, sound, aspect of packing or any combination of these.

A registered trademark is a protected version of the above. The owner of a trademark is given the right to use that mark for goods/services they nominate (a right you don’t get otherwise – a business or company name registration doesn’t actually give you the right to promote that name). They also gain the right to license use of the trademark to other people, as well as stop others using the same or confusingly similar trademark.  Without trademark registration in place you run the risk of infringing someone else’s rights, but you are also close to powerless in stopping others from using deceptively similar names and logos.

How do I know if I can register my trademarks?

There are certain things that simply can’t be registered as trademarks. For example, anything too scandalous or would be contrary to law; anything that would straight away confuse the public. Generally speaking there are two main things to consider:

1. Is your trademark actually a trademark? If your name is too descriptive or is too common in connection with your industry it could be difficult to register;

A trademark search can help identify any problems you may face during the trademark application process (which takes a minimum of 7.5 months in Australia!). To save time, money and potential heart ache we always recommend a search be done as early as possible.

Goods & Services

Trademarks are registered specifically in relation to the type of products or services they are used to brand. All goods/services are separated into classes or categories, which must be nominated at the time of filing your application. Therefore, it’s important to have a clear idea of not only your current products and services but also where your business may grow to. Including as many classes of goods/services now could save time and money in the future.

For example – if you have a new logo that you use for a clothing label, you would register in one of these classes that cover clothing. However, if that same logo is used as a brand for handbags & wallets, then you would need a second class. Ultimately, you then gain the registered rights described above in relation to clothing, handbags and wallets.

I export my products, so if I register in my country will I be covered?

Unfortunately not. Intellectual Property rights, including trademarks, are a country-by-country. For instance, if you register in Australia you have the right to use, license and control the use in Australia. If you export a branded product to the United States for example you should also register there – plus, make sure no-one else already has!

Australia is member to certain international agreements that can offer benefits when looking to register outside of Australia. One of these agreements gives you a 6 month period to file overseas (from the date filed in Australia) and the international offices will treat the application as though filed on the same date as in Australia. The other is an international filing system that allows you to file a single application and nominate member countries (there are around 80 members to select from), rather than having to file a separate application for each country. International trademark registration, and use of the ‘single filing system’ can be complex, and success is dependent on a number of factors so advice should always be sought. For more information about international trademark registration, read our Guide to International Trademark Registration.

Isn’t that the same as copyrights and patents though?

Nope. Trademarks, copyrights, patents and other things are types of Intellectual Property with each protecting a different thing. Copyright is an automatic right granted to the author of original works that are categorized as copyright; trademarks protect ‘distinctive signs’ that are used to brand products and services and patents cover new devices, substances, methods etc that are inventive and useful.  You can also protect the appearance of a new product through design registration and even protect new breeds of plants! Whilst copyright is automatic and doesn’t require registration, to be seen as the official owner and gain protection of trademarks, designs or patents you must officially register.

Top Tips:

• Have a trademark search conducted as early in your business as possible. And, where possible before investing time and money into business/company registration and logo design. There’s nothing worse than finding out after you are set up and operating that you have been inadvertently infringing someone’s trademark rights and have to rebrand and start over.
• Use the ™ symbol with any distinctive names/logos. This will deter people from copying, as they will assume this means a protected trademark when it doesn’t. Note that you cannot use the ® symbol though unless fully registered. This represents a registered trademark and it is actually an offense to claim something as registered when it’s not.
• Seek professional advice and assistance! On the surface applying & registering a trademark can appear simple, but often it’s not. There are many advantages to using a trademark agent. It might seem more costly initially but will often be less expensive in the long run. 

Jacqui Pryor is the director of Mark My Words Trademark Services. Jacqui has 13 years of experience in Australian and International trademark matters and her company aims to provide affordable, friendly and reliable services to small businesses in an area often assumed reserved for big business. Click here to receive your free trademark search.

EXCLUSIVE OFFER!!

Mention Build a Little Biz in your enquiry or search request to receive 10% off professional fees for your application!

little biz love | post your business here!

there was a time, not so long ago, when i was able to keep track of every person who liked the build a little biz facebook page or who popped over to the blog to leave a comment. i matched every new fan to their business and liked every page in return.

now with 6700+ fans and 8000+ unique visitors to the site each month, i can't keep up! i adore my 'regulars' who always say hi and leave comments and ask questions and share my posts ~ *waves hi!* ~ you ladies rock, and your comments/shares/likes keep me going!

but for every one person who says hi i know there are many many more lurkers, following along from the sidelines. *more waving!* i appreciate all of your visits to the page and blog, and it is totally ok to be a reader instead of a commenter, but i would love to hear from you too, just this once =)

so today i am turning the blog over to you, my awesome readers & fans & fellow women in biz...

please introduce yourself in the comments. tell us about your little biz. leave a link to your website and page so we can pop in and say hi. and share one thing with us - maybe one thing you love about your biz, or one thing you could use a little help with, or one way you would love to help others, or one goal you have for your biz this year. 

i would love to get to know more of you, and i think this could be a fabulous place to get to know each other! so after you leave your comment have a look at the other businesses posted and pick 5 to go visit and say hello. let's "walk the walk" and support each other, even as we build our own little businesses.

long term fans, regular contributers, first time visitors, quiet lurkers... i hope to say hi to you all! see you in the comments... =)

ps - if your comment doesn't show up right away, please don't worry. sometimes comments get pinged by the spam filter and with a click of a button i will approve them and they will be seen by everyone. =)