New enhancements are already in place for improved performance.

Hyperlink Your GoGoPin Ad

You can now choose to make your GoGoPin Ad ‘click-able’ and hyperlink it to any public URL you wish. You will encounter the same Save/Export Dialog as before (Title, Keywords, and a Description) with an additional place to include any public URL or Web Address you wish. Essentially your GoGoPin Ad becomes a free clickable Banner Ad.

Note: The link you enter will only work when you post your ad using  HTML code.  For help posting your ad in HTML click here.

Additional Clip Art

Fresh customized clip art include designations for Better Business Bureau, as well as new professional designations for Real Estate, and pet policy badges for Property Managers. See picture below or click here for samples.

Change Background Color

Select a background color from standard color selections, or use slide bars to exact RGB specifications. Adjust the length of your ad, and the background color extends as well. These options are adjustable in the lower right portion of the workspace.

Improved Text Editing

Sometimes the best improvements are ones that you don’t even notice. Rich text editing is cleaner, and more stable than ever now. Get what you want on the page with fewer clicks.

Refreshed Tour Page

If it has been a while since you last logged in, or if you wish to share GoGoPin with others then you’ll want to visit the GoGoPin Ad Tour. The Tour includes a video introduction, samples, and screenshots for your own reference, and for easy sharing without signing in.

Complementary Trial of GoGoPin Business is Underway!

Extend the reach of your online marketing efforts by building your own unique business website. Connect, book appointments, or simply sell items live from your home, office, or third place. To request an invitation code to begin a complementary trial of GoGoPin Business click here.

Thank You!

Please continue to let us know what you would like to see in terms of GoGoPin Ad enhancements and we will do our best to deliver:  support@gogopin.com . Until the next newsworthy announcement, we always remain available for help via
support@gogopin.com as well.

We invite you to follow us on Twitter, and join our group on Facebook.

Sincerely,

The GoGoPin Team

Designing and developing  technology can’t be everyone’s strong suit.  Small business owners must play to their strengths, and most of us are lucky to speak a second language much less write software. GoGoPin is a small business that has technology at its core, and was recognized by Microsoft’s /web profile.  Tech savvy? Take a gander. (No? Read on…)

Entrepreneurs wear many hats, but inevitably attending to core operations in any small business comes at the expense of time spent tending to tasks outside their comfort zone,  like online marketing.

Now business people from all sectors can manage their own online content using solely a keyboard and mouse, entirely from an internet browser.

Blog Today; Build Your Own Business Website Tomorrow.

There are as many blogs as there are specialists and then some. But only a few years ago, the number of people dubbing themselves ‘author’ was far smaller. Luckily, many tech savvy developers compiled blogging platforms for the rest of us. Those developers (you know who you are!) made publishing content on the web accessible to more people from all compass points geographic and virtual.

Technology developers and designers have core skill that affect practically all sectors of business today, and they too stand on the shoulders of giants.  Developers and designers at GoGoPin are using tools that you may never need to know (or want to). Tools such as:

• ASP.NET Framework
• IIS Web Server
• Visual Studio
• Silverlight

Each of these tools are continually under development as well, and the observable result is the convergence of design and development. Microsoft’s BizSpark program has provided  GoGoPin with an integrated development environment (lots of software and more). Subsequently, GoGoPin has designed, developed, and produced applications that affect businesses of all kinds.

What’s in it for Me?

What’s good for small business is good for all of us. What’s in it for small businesses is the ability of online business activities from people who never dreamed they would manage such activities for themselves. GoGoPin aims to put the power of the web in the hands of small business owners who aren’t technology developers or designers.

What’s in it for GoGoPin is the opportunity to play to GoGoPin’s strength: empowering offline businesses with online tools they can manage themselves.

Microsoft has recognized GoGoPin among other developing small businesses for taking the tools and running with them for a noble reason: That small business owners may build and manage a business website that serves their core business operation, without requiring specialized technical skills.

A Head Start for Small Business

GoGoPin Business Website building is rapidly maturing,  and you have the opportunity now to sign up and get started on a complementary basis. By giving feedback, corner cleaners and pizza chefs can take the reins of their own website and blog in one fell swoop.  Closing the gap between offline and online takes a little time that is well spent.  For now, it requires no money whatsoever!

Using the latest technology and some tried and true rules, you’ll learn to create competitive ads and flyers from anywhere you have a compatible internet browser and an internet connection.

Fee:  

Free!

Location:

The Old Redmond Schoolhouse – Rm. 104
16600 NE 80th St.
Redmond, WA 98052

 Topics:  Real Estate and Entreprenurial Online Ads and Flyers

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Real Estate Workshop: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Creating competitive and compelling Real Estate flyers both online and offline for entrepreneurial brokers and agents is the main topic of this engaging workshop. Ample space and lunch (provided) will enable brokers and agents, new and established to improve the flyers they use to communicate their properties and services to the community at large.Primarily for small brokerages and agents who create flyers for properties and self-promotion. Of course any ad and flyer creators are welcome.

OR

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Small Business and Entrepreneurs Workshop: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Similar content, but primarily focused for small businesses or self-promoting marketers. Both online and offline promotional flyers will be demonstrated. Of course other ad and flyer creators are welcome.

Important Information:

Free Parking and Luncheon Provided. The maximum capacity of the room must be strictly maintained as per City of Redmond requirements, so please RSVP to adam (at) motioncloud (dot) net.

There is room for your notebook computer but no guarantee of WiFi connection – if you wish to upload photos to private Picasa or Flickr albums prior we’ll be demonstrating the use of those during the workshop from the podium.

Optional: Email a link to one of your current listings to adam (at) motioncloud (dot) net if you would like a customized sample to be part of the workshop.

Agenda

11:30 – 12:00 Sign-in and Networking
12:00 – 12:15 Luncheon – (continued during workshop)
12:15 – 12:45 Creating Competitive Flyers Online
12:45 – 1:30 Questions, Answers and continued Networking

You may also RSVP via Biznik:

Real Estate
http://biznik.com/members/adam-odnert/events/real-estate-workshop-create-competitive-flyers-online

Small Business and Entrepreneurs
http://biznik.com/events/free-marketing-for-small-biz-and-entrepreneurs-creating-competitive-flyers

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) includes consumer tips for back-to-school shopping. Why not take it a step further and sell what you no longer need – a Back-From-School Sale. The NFCC recommends: “Avoid the parking lot and shop online. Save time and money. Stores often put their best sales online and it’s a great way to compare prices”. [NFCC Consumer Tips] . Don’t depend solely on book-buy-back programs at the bookstore to get something back. There’s no end to the items in a dorm or apartment that can be resold to recoup some of the cost of the completed semester.

What Student Debt?

I couldn’t say it better than Michelle Singletary:

“The commencement speeches soon will be over, the graduation caps and gowns put away, the gift cards used. The one thing that won’t go away is the tens of thousands of dollars graduates owe in student loans. For most college graduates, the cost of their educations finally will be a reality. So now what?” [Consider Options for Student Debt]

Every semester ends and brings a new opportunity to take inventory and sell your unwanted stuff online for good reason – cold cash. The good news about converting stuff to cash is that a dollar gained today from unwanted items sold online can help to make the transition between student debtor and living on a cash basis – something everyone could aspire to, in school or out.

All Sold Out?

To suggest that selling your stuff online will quickly solve student debt problems would be tactless and insensitive – I am neither. The value in reselling unwanted items speaks for itself, and researching this post revealed a great deal more help for students and consumers in trouble:

National Foundation for Credit Counseling Tools

The NFCC Website provides a great list of interactive online tools to help with debt relief including:

• Budget Worksheet
• Calculators – (Home Ownership, Purchase Cost, Debt Payoff Scenarios)
• Consumer Tips (Thrift Actions, Credit Advice, Housing Info, etc.)
• Financial Fast Fact Videos – Short Clips with Long-term advice.

For most of us, living on a cash basis would be the ’Best of All Possible Worlds’ - out of reach for most.  The good news is that inventory can become cash with a little work online – and that little work online is what we are all about.

In following our own advice from “Linkedin – The Chain Gang of Profiles, Connections, and Groups” we have created a new Linkedin Group :  GoGoPin – Online Content Creation .

If you haven’t created a Linkedin profile, and choose to do so – now is the perfect opportunity. You can always return to flesh out your profile as you have the time to do so.  See more about Linkedin profiles directly from Linkedin.

GoGoPin specializes in providing online content creation. This group is intended as a forum for business people who use online content creation tools to make ads, flyers, and websites. Make the most of GoGoPin and join the discussion. You may begin discussions, post links, and as the group grows you will have a new venue to share links to the Ads and Flyers that you’ve created if you wish.

Discuss Among Other GoGoPin Ad Users and the GoGoPin Team

We decided against using email addresses to invite GoGoPin ad makers to the group from within Linkedin, as we do not wish to use your confidential email address via Linkedin. We will moderate and do our best to keep the membership as relevant to Online Content Creation as possible.

You may join the group using the link provided here, or anytime from the list of GoGoPin Social Networking links on the right-hand side of this blog. The group is not intended to serve as a classified site by any means, but rather a chance to network and share with other GoGoPin Ad makers. Posting links to classified sites isn’t prohibited, but the Linkedin Group audience will more likely be your colleagues as opposed to prospective buyers.

Setting Expectations and Until Next Time

The numbers may be small to begin with – but upon joining, you will have an opportunity to introduce yourself and link to your business if you wish, and as more people join, they will see your post.

Have you found a new place to post your GoGoPin Ads? Share it with the group!

Premiere Ads Online Advertising Service will design and distribute classified ads and webflyers for you. GoGoPin Ad is a free marketing tool that Premiere Ads has put to work for their clients. Premiere Ads reminds us that: “Getting the word out about what you do or what you sell is the key to your business’s success.”

GoGoPin Ad provides free online webflyer creation, but the designing is still up to the advertiser. Thats where Premiere Ads steps in, and uses GoGoPin Ad among other tools to create and distribute your flyers regionally or nationally.

In her own words, proprietor Patricia B. wrote:

“I have made several flyers and now am able to create one in a relatively short period of time. I love the many choices for background colors and how easy it is to move around your photos and text boxes. Photo upload is very easy as well. Once you export your finished product, it is so easy to copy and post it into websites that accpet HTML.

I am enjoying using GoGoPin and really appreciate your free service! I highly recommend it to any0ne wanting to make a professional looking webflyer!”

GoGoPin Ad is at your service, free as ever., and the GoGoPin Team wishes Premier Ads the best of luck.

Have a similar story? Email your testimonial to support@gogopin.com , and we’ll share your story, too.

Opinions about marketing by way of social networking are are all over, and yes, I have one too. The book of social networking etiquette is unbound and without a standard. Do’s and Don’ts are bounced about and as we recently implemented the ability to post directly to Facebook from GoGoPin Ad, I have been getting my feet wet with social networking toward business objectives. GoGoPin Ad’s  business objective is to provide online content creation tools to people who post items or promote their services online. Recently, Bernice Ross from Inman News wrote an article titled: “Do’s and Don’ts of Social Networking“. Ross is quite right in stating: “The younger your potential client is, the more likely he or she is to search you out on Google, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.” But internet adoption continues to rise across all age groups, and to reach them requires getting your feet wet with social networking (see previous post).

Personal and Professional Profiles: Who Are You?

GoGoPin’s business objective using social networking is becoming more effective with practice, and I haven’t lost any friends in the process. Navigating to the right audience is a challenge, as Jeremiah Owyang stated in his Web Strategist post entitled “The Future of the Social Web: In Five Eras” According to Owyang: “Today’s social experience is disjointed because consumers have separate identities in each social network they visit.” He goes on to describe a very useful model of social networking done by Forrester Research in April of 2009 called “Future of the Social Web in Five Eras” . Forrester has come up with a diagram of how social networking is changing the ecommerce landscape over time.  As seen in the following diagrams provided by Jessica Tsai in Social Media: The Five-Year Forecast:

Forrester April 2009

Commerce online moves in time from top to bottom in the diagram above, and the Eras overlap as seen below:

Forrester April 2009

 
The conceptual eras ring true. Social networking is not only changing the way we present ourselves as consumers, but the way that we actually transact – as buyers and sellers. It is not only consumers that have separate identities in each social network but companies as well. Agents, Brokers, and businesses of all kinds have depended on referrals from personal and professional networks prior to the Industrial Revolution and earlier. How does a small business present itself in a social network of individuals? Over time the Era of Social Commerce is nigh, where brands will remain strong, but only in as much as they are part of the social networking community at large. That is done by individual marketing professionals, and it is in this capacity GoGoPin will continue with the next post in this series: “Our Space and Phasebook”.

As a big fan of Linkedin for years my objective on the site has changed considerably over time. Job seekers and recruiters are a vital component to the whole LinkedIn show. That’s how many of us began creating professional profiles on Linkedin. However your connections comprise your professional network, and they are the source of your recommendations and credibility. Groups are a whole different game, and the greatest opportunity beyond job searching. Groups are where the story of your business objective gets heard. But consider this: If you only join groups that match your own skill set and business sector, then you may very well be preaching to the choir. Seek to join groups where your experience and value proposition solve others problems.

 For example, I happen to have some knowledge of a specific enterprise software program that has very little to do with what my present company has to offer. I belong to groups of people with my own qualifications or better for advice. To market my present business objective on Linkedin, I seek to join groups that are in need of what GoGoPin offers: Online Content Creation.

Regardless of what group you contribute to, spamming LinkedIn at every opportunity with hyperlinks to GoGoPin was not effective. So I asked myself: What can I contribute to this Group that authentically reflects my experience, and GoGoPin’s value proposition to qualified prospects?  I found that GoGoPin’s marketing message was simply out of context in these groups. I am much better off now posting my experience and GoGoPin links to groups of people to who have a problem that GoGoPin can solve. As a result LinkedIn has become a regular source of visits to GoGoPin, and some convert to repeat customers.

I still engage in my alumni groups and such, but refrain from diluting the discussion with pitches and hyperlinks out of context. Engage authentically in LinkedIn and you’ll find the right place to get your marketing message to the right audience. If you peak interest with a meaningful post – the reader will visit your profile in turn, and the links to your business should be there.

Network Socially – The Etiquette is Unwritten

I recommend a balance of authenticity and transparency with business objectives in mind to provide a human value proposition.  Ease up on boasting and slogans. Pour on the stories and useful content. For most of us, our business is our baby and it takes a village to raise it. Take a stroll to Town Hall: Social Networks. Be authentic and transparent. Your business value will shine through if you humanize the message and share it in stories with people who stand to gain from what you offer. You are cordially invited, and most welcome to present your wares. Your customers need you to be there.

• Where: The Internet
• When: Ongoing Throughout the Era of Social Networking
• Attire: Twitter: T-Shirt and jeans. Facebook: Weekend and business casual. Linkedin: Presentation and seminar-ware.

Years ago, I had the tremendous opportunity to fill two 19 foot moving vans with enough retail display cases, platforms, etc. to fill a department store. It was all free – I was saving this premium furniture from the landfill.

I should have left it where it lay at the time, because once I put what would fit in my small shop, I couldn’t GIVE the rest away! Craigslist did not seem to do the trick when I was selling used business to business stuff. It was nice too and in good condition – not unlike the display below.

I would love to have had a site like UsedBizStuff to post these items. I paid rent and provided shelter for these empty shelves until their final resting place at my expense. UsedBizStuff serves a specific niche for business owners and entrepreneurs that desire to buy and sell used business equipment in the areas of Office Equipment & Furniture, Store Fixtures & Retail Displays, Restaurant Equipment, Business Closings and Liquidation Sales. What’s more, they will accept HTML code from GoGoPin Ad!

Rick Hayden from UsedBizStuff said:

“After researching GoGoPin, we made the necessary changes so that your tools would be compatible with our site.  We also placed a sample GoGoPin ad on our site for advertisers to see how great their ads could look!”…and: “best wishes for your success with the multiple platforms that we have seen.”

We appreciate the effort to enable GoGoPin Ad makers to become Business to Business buyers and sellers on UsedBizStuff. I hope it helps retailers resell their multiple platforms to the best offer out there. Spare the landfill – we’re all better off.

• Walk-Through
• Tutorials
• Quick Reference
• Send Feedback

100+ New Clip Art Designs – Exclusive to GoGoPin Ad

More Found Exclusively on GoGoPin Ad

These clip art designs are hand-crafted at the workstations of our dedicated graphics team. The new clip art includes:

Emblems, Ribbons, Callouts, Stars, Pay Types, Cash, Post-Its, Telephones, Papers, Frames, and more.

There are plenty of blank versions of all of the above for you to place text just how you like it to make your Classified exactly as you wish.

When you add Clip Art to your design, you’ll select the picture icon, and choose from over 100 snappy clip art designs to make your ad shine.

Walk Through

When you first login, or from the Help Menu, you may initiate a walk-through of GoGoPin Ad. This is a click-by-click, feature-by-feature overlayed note that explains the feature, and prompts you to the next one when you’re ready.

Tutorial

From the Help Menu, selecting Tutorial opens an FAQ in a new window (without interrupting your work) with both written and video examples of each feature.

Quick Reference

From the Help Menu, selecting Quick Reference  opens a dynamic visual graphic FAQ, with a list of features and hyperlinks to high resolution graphics of how to best utilize the tools on GoGoPin Ad.

Send Feedback

From the Help Menu, selecting Send Feedback enables you to give us feedback while you’re working, and return immediately to your canvas without any emailing.

More to come  to help you show off your stuff – make a terrific looking ad, and sell. Coming soon: Sharing, and more…

Do it yourself! – Make a Free Classified Ad on GoGoPin Ad.

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