Get Your Customers on ESPN!
PMA
In the competitive field of sports photography, landing the league oftentimes depends on who has the most unique products to offer their clients. myESPN Highlights gives you the upper-hand, as you showcase youth sports images in an authentic SportsCenter™ highlight reel, complete with commentary by ESPN's Karl Ravech.

Sports Photographers Association of America (SPAA) has teamed up with aVinci Media to offer SPAA/PMA members a 30 percent savings on myESPN Highlights sales affiliate registration fee. More

Your (Virtual) Operator is Standing By
Smart Money's Small Biz
You need to immediately make a strong, professional impression for your clients to take you seriously. You want them to make contact and imagine a corporate army at the end of the line, even if your troops consist of just a dedicated three or four. The solution for more and more small businesses is voice over IP, or VoIP, the shorthand for phone systems that run through the Internet rather than over traditional telephone networks.More

Small Businesses Urged to Prepare for Disruptions From Swine Flu
The Washington Post
The Department of Homeland Security has urged small businesses to devise contingency plans allowing them to operate in the event a number of their employees become infected with the H1N1 virus. With half of the nation's private-sector employees working at small businesses, federal officials said they want the enterprises to take precautions to prevent a disruption to the economy as the virus, also known as swine flu, wends its way across the United States. More

Why Your Advertising Isn't Working
Business Week
Recently, an AdweekMedia poll of LinkedIn members posed this question: "Of the ads you see in a typical day, how many engage your attention?" A remarkable two-thirds of respondents said "a small minority of them." Another quarter answered "none of them." Together, that's 91 percent. Only one in 100 respondents said "most of them." Ouch. The good news is that you can take steps to fix it.More

Great Customer Service: Remembering the Little Things
Retail Customer Experience
When a company has to downsize, picking up additional responsibilities can make employees feel overworked, over-stressed and under-appreciated. If you're a manager, what can you do to keep your employees focused on delivering great customer service? What small, yet meaningful, rewards can you create?More

Set Your Company's Message Free
Entrepreneur
Let go of the idea that you need complete control over your message. Very few companies are able to maintain control and still create buzz. Apple comes to mind, but think about how much the company must spend - all the time and resources necessary to maintain such a tight-lipped atmosphere. For most of us, it's better to throw the message out there and then let it do its work.More

How to Use Language That Employees Get
The Harvard Business Review
It's not just what leaders say; it's also how they say it. In studies on executives who have instilled a great sense of purpose in others, introduced powerful brands, or managed successfully in turbulent times, researchers found that they often use terms and metaphors that resonate with their employees. More

This Five Letter Word is the Key to Marketing Success
Fast Company
If you are skeptical that brands still matter, or if you are trying to run a business and make numbers and don't have the patience for brand consultant-speak or theories, here is a quick, simple refresher on good old fashioned branding that works today, that can help you frame your marketing and other operational tactics...to drive business results.More