ADUTAINMENT: Advertising as Entertainment
JellyBasket.com - JELLY by the CASE or as a GIFT BASKET.

Full-Service Internet Marketing Agency Pepperjam to Attend, Exhibit and Speak at Search-Engine Strategies - Chicago
Pepperjam, an industry leading full-service online marketing agency recently recognized by Inc. Magazine for a second consecutive year as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the United States, announced today that Pepperjam will attend, exhibit and speak at Search-Engine Strategies Chicago. The event will be held from December 3 - 7, 2007 at the Chicago Hilton. Pepperjam's CEO Kristopher B. Jones will speak on Tuesday during a panel entitled "Dealing with Affiliates."

eBooks About Everything is Open for Business
Think it! Click it! Read it! eBooks About Everything makes finding and buying the eBook you want just that simple.

What Your Small Business Can Learn From The Doctor
Most doctors never distinguish the difference between customers and patients. That's why they have waiting rooms instead of reception areas.

Choosing A Network Marketing Opportunity - 5 Red Flags
Although network marketing offers the potential for long term residual profits on your original efforts, it is important to take the time initially to choose the opportunity that is best suited to your interests and marketing skills. The following five "red flags" will help you narrow down your choices and find the program that holds the most profit potential for you.

Why Search Engine Marketing Has A Passion for Web Site Usability
Watching a recent football game, I imagined two very different teams: one called â€œThe Hordersâ€쳌 and the other, â€œThe Huntersâ€쳌. In the game, it takes planning and skill to carry a football a few yards.

Master of Business Administration
Masters of Business Administration (MBA) graduates first stepped out of the American universities in the year 1900. It was 40 years later that the other European nations realised the contribution these graduates can make to the business and economy as a whole. Subsequently, business schools were started all over Europe in the 1960s.

Article Marketing: Fox in the Competitor Hen House or Chicken Little?
I recently was asked by an author to remove a free content article from a client web site where we had posted it (with several others from different authors) to increase topical relevancy at a site that fit the article perfectly.This article was submitted to free web content list archives which I'd found online.

How To Start Your Own Home Business: Basics To Consider
You?ve been sitting in a cold cubicle dreaming of having your own home business for months, maybe even years. So what?s stopping you?

Remington CEO to Chair Outdoor Business Council
A man who has carried on a tradition of vigilance against the anti-hunting movement will be the next leader of the USSA's Outdoor Business Council (OBC). The program encourages sporting goods businesses to invest in the protection of hunting, fishing and trapping. Thomas Millner, CEO of Remington Arms Co., Inc...

Video Voting Site Shows Another Surprise in 2008 Presidential Campaign
pollClash.com Voters Back Obama on Taxes ? but Young Voters Favor McCain Republicans Support McCain but All Other Groups Lean Toward Obama, Except for 18-25 Year-Olds; Obama Supporters Feel More Strongly About Their Candidate Pollclash.com, a Groundbreaking Independent Web Video Voting Site, Lets Voters Compare and Vote on 2008 Campaign Videos and Soundbites

RSS Feeds, A Growing Trend In Business
Informational feeds are an excellent source of text to use as content filler on websites.

Your Business Deserves a Second Chance!
When you started your business, you dreamed your customers would love your products and services. They would be excited.

Finding Your Passion And Find Your Success In Network Marketing
Well Kozan had to coin Passion = Profits, so here's the article...

Business Audio Books
As a business person, you can now use the amazing value inherent in listening to audio books. You won't have to worry about not having the time or will to flip through the pages of a book.

New Business Chaplain Cares for Mobile, Alabama Workforce
Steve Durkac is an ordained minister with a heart for Mobile, Alabama's workforce. Steve has set out on a new journey of providing employee chaplaincy care services and stress management training.

Getting it Approved : Your B2B Marketing Budget

It's time to start planning your business-to-business marketing budget for the next financial year. Here are some tips and helpful ideas for designing your marketing budget and getting it approved. There are three main strategies used for creating B2B marketing budgets. These include:

1* Simply use the previous year's budget, adding or removing elements in order to arrive at the upcoming year's budget.

2* Use a sales percentage as the basis of the upcoming year's budget. This approach examines what you expect to take in as sales and multiplies the figure by a certain percentage. The result is the marketing budget for the year. For B2B marketing, the usual multiplier is 4 percent less personnel costs. If using this strategy, you should not simply use last year's sales to calculate. If the previous year was not a good one, and you are only going to budget 4 percent of it, you may not have enough in the budget to rise to meet growth in the upcoming year.

3* The best approach is to use what is known as 'blank-page' budgeting. This technique allows you to create the entire B2B marketing budget from your plan and the B2B communications strategies within to arrive at the final budget.

Understand the amount of capital you will require in order to meet the goals for the upcoming year. Beginning with a blank page, create a list of all the expenses to employ the B2B marketing strategies outlined in your plan. These may include things such as: materials, design, photography, contracted services, rentals, and postage. Add them all up to arrive at a total needs budget. It can also be a good idea to provide management staff with minimum, target, and stretch budget options.

The three budget levels will illustrate the amount of funding needed to meet the three levels of sales revenue. That is, meeting the minimum will cost X amount, meeting the target will cost Y, and expanding to stretch-level goals will cost Z. In most cases, when managers are shown a proposed marketing budget showing a relationship to the goals of the business, they will choose the budget that is connected to the goal they think is most important. This is altogether different from just cutting off a bit of the single budget number you have proposed.

Be prepared to explain your budget allocations to management in general terms. The proposal needs to contain a written strategic plan that is geared to all three of the listed budget levels. This plan should include a situational analysis, corporate goals, executive summary, a marketing strategy, calendar, budget and tactics. Don't spend too much time making your proposal fancy unless you're pitching an investor or applying for a bank loan. All you will need in most cases is a PowerPoint presentation with an Excel spreadsheet that lists action items and the budget itself.

If your budgeting proposal meets resistance from managers, you should re-emphasize the symbiotic relationship between your plan and budget the sales goals of the company. If there's talk of cutting from the current budget, ask which sales they are willing to give up on, as these cut will certainly end up meaning lower revenue from sales. At times, dramatic tactics can rally the managerial support you'll need. As an example, acquire some copies of all the business-to-business materials produced by your competitors, and, before your managerial meeting, cover the office room with this info. This type of awareness-enhancement has been shown to generate a positive response and a boost in the B2B budget.

M. H. "Mac" McIntosh is described by many as one of America's leading business-to-business sales and marketing consultants and an expert on sales leads.