LED Carpeting May Light the Way to the Future

LED Carpeting May Light the Way to the Future
10 Tips for Using a Blog to Increase Email List Signups
Read The “Respect Effect” to Build Leadership and Profitability

Posted: 08 Dec 2013 01:00 PM PST

led carpeting

So you can’t find your way to the bathroom in your new office complex? No worries. Lighted LED carpeting will do it for you — LED light emitting carpeting; yes, it’s true.

Two Dutch-based companies, Phillips Lighting and carpet maker Desso, have announced a partnership to revolutionize the modern office space. The companies plan to develop the carpet for offices, hotels, conference centers and other public places.

So, instead of an illuminated Exit sign above the door, imagine being guided to the exit by lighting from the carpet beneath your feet.

In a joint announcement posted on the official Desso website, Philips Lighting Marketing and Sales Director Ed Huibers explains:

“This light transmissive carpet solution is designed to engage directly with people's senses and the eyes' natural inclination to seek out light. The technology takes advantage of people's tendency to be guided by the floor when moving through and interacting with space. It brings information, direction, inspiration and safety via the carpet you walk on.”

Here’s a brief promotional photo showing the technology in action:

Desso envisions the new light emitting LED carpet as serving several purposes. One would be to quickly and intuitively guide people through buildings including to designated safety routes and exits. Another would be to add to the ambiance and atmosphere of public spaces. The carpet would add “lighting, design and color” as the joint statement from both companies explains.

Finally, the companies believe lighted LED carpet will allow the display of information only when needed instead of cluttering a space with lots of signs and directions.

Desso CEO Alexander Collot d'Escury explains:

“We know people spend 90% of their time indoors and our vision linked to this is to create innovative flooring solutions that contribute to people's health and well-being. This new solution developed with our partner Philips, meets this need and offers exciting ways to enhance the interaction between the interior space and its users.”

Both companies anticipate that light emitting LED carpet may be available as soon as next year.

So remember, the next time you’re out hunting for office space, find out whether the carpet can show you the way to the bathroom – or whether you just have to find your way there yourself.

The post LED Carpeting May Light the Way to the Future appeared first on Small Business Trends.

10 Tips for Using a Blog to Increase Email List Signups

Posted: 08 Dec 2013 09:00 AM PST

increase email list

Email marketing is still one of the most powerful online marketing strategies around. With a healthy and growing subscriber list, you can generate more leads and net more sales through every mailing.

Once you know the right timing and have a good content strategy for your mailing list, you should concentrate on how to increase email list signups. The tips below will help you do this right from your small business blog, and keep your subscriber base expanding.

How to Increase Email List Signups

1. Use a Feature Box

If you don't already have one, a Feature Box on your blog can give you a significant increase in subscribers. The Feature Box is the area between your header and your content – if you're running your blog on WordPress, there are some templates, such as Thesis and BlackBird, that have customizable feature boxes built right in.

You can also build a Feature Box in WordPress with widgets.

2. Offer a Freebie with Signup

Most people enjoy getting something for nothing. If you have an eBook, whitepaper or special report that's associated with your business, you can give it away free to anyone who signs up for your email list.

One great way to increase email list signups with this tactic is to offer your free eBook or other bonus right in your Feature Box.

3. Provide Subscribers with Exclusive Content

If you're fresh out of eBooks to give away, or your business doesn't really lend itself to long-form content, you can entice more subscribers by offering them exclusive content that isn't published to general visitors.

This might be a regular newsletter, video content or something as simple as read-it-first links, where you send subscribers' private links to new blog posts before you make them public.

4. Use Plugins to Generate Leads

For small business blogs running on the WordPress platform, there are several plugins that will help you increase email list signups with professional opt-in boxes and forms.

The Magic Action Box plugin lets you create a Feature Box or other opt-in forms that are customized to your brand. There's also the Bueno Gato Free Popup Creator plugin, which does just what the name implies.

5. Call Attention with an Unobtrusive Popup

Many people are using lightbox-style popups that gray out the rest of the page – which can work, but can also really annoy your visitors unless they're done well.

Luckily, there's a more unique way to attract subscribers with popups. The free Hello Bar is a narrow strip that "pops up" along the top edge of your blog. You can customize this to either direct visitors to your signup page, or have them enter their email address directly in the bar.

6. Provide More Chances for People to Sign Up

While you don't want to go crazy with opt-in boxes, you should have at least one place on every page of your blog where people can subscribe to your email list. Place signup boxes at the top of the page (use a Feature Box for best effect), in the sidebar and at the end of every post.

With the individual post opt-in boxes, you can include a brief call to action. For example: "Enjoy this post? Enter your email address to sign up for our list, and get notified whenever we post fresh content."

7. Split Test Your Wording Choices

If you're not getting many email list signups, changing the wording on your calls to action can help. Try performing A/B testing on different wording, such as "Get Email Updates," "Subscribe Today," or even "Download Now!" if you're offering a freebie for subscribers.

Then stick with the wording that performs the best.

8. Get Social for Greater Visibility

Social sharing is a great way to attract more visitors and increase email list signups. To boost your social media circulation, be sure to include social sharing buttons somewhere in your page template, and at the end of every blog post.

9. Switch to a Full RSS Feed

People who are subscribed to your blog receive email notifications whenever you post new content. Some marketers insist that using partial RSS feeds, which send only snippets of your posts to subscribers and require them to click through for the rest, are better because they increase traffic to your blog.

However, partial RSS feeds can serve to annoy subscribers, and they may not bother clicking through. If you allow full RSS feeds, you'll not only get your content read more often, but you'll also be emailing the opt-in form at the end of your posts to all of your RSS subscribers.

10. Practice Good SEO to Get More Visitors

The more people who find their way to your blog, the more potential email list signups you have. So, one of the best ways to increase email list signups is to make sure your blog is optimized for search engines, and therefore bringing you more traffic.

Newsletter Photo via Shutterstock

The post 10 Tips for Using a Blog to Increase Email List Signups appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Read The “Respect Effect” to Build Leadership and Profitability

Posted: 08 Dec 2013 06:00 AM PST

the respect effect My stomach still gets tied up in knots when I think about that meeting. We were off-site for a strategy-business planning session. The tables were in a U-shape and the CEO sat off to the side.

It all started as a light-hearted discussion that devolved into a tirade – with me at the center of the CEO's ire. I don't remember much from the meeting, only that shut-down feeling and wanting to run away in tears. Instead, I sat there dumbfounded. As I looked around the room (in a sort of out-of-body experience), I noticed the look on the other managers' faces that clearly said, "Glad I'm not you!"

Apparently, I'm not the only one who has had this kind of experience. It's a common story for many people as documented by Paul Meshanko in his book, The Respect Effect: Using the Science of Neuroleadership to Inspire a More Loyal and Productive Workplace.

Meshanko is the CEO of Legacy Business Cultures, a company that serves corporations growing demand for change management and employee engagement training. Legacy's client base consists of Fortune 500 companies who understand the profit power of engaged employees and look to him for guidance and coaching to prepare them for growth and success.

I received this book from a friend and was really impressed with the new perspective that the author lends to this popular topic.

Your Brain is Wired to Thrive on Respect

Aretha Franklin was a woman before her time. It's no wonder R-E-S-P-E-C-T was a hit. Our brains can't get enough of it.

There truly are thousands of books on the subject of employee engagement. But what sets The Respect Effect apart from the rest is its focus on the brain and how both respectful and disrespectful behaviors impact our brain chemistry and therefore our behavior and performance.

The Respect Effect contains plenty of examples of both desirable and undesirable behaviors that you can take on and practice for yourself. For example, here is a short list of "respect" enhancing behaviors:

Offering a verbal complement.
Making eye contact.
Supporting someone's work.
Giving public recognition.

Meshanko goes into detail explaining how powerful giving respect is – not just in terms of creating a pleasant place to work, but in creating a profitable enterprise.

Likewise, here is a list of disrespectful behaviors:

Being lied to.
Excluded from important meetings.
Using ethnic slurs.
Taking credit for another's idea.

These kinds of behaviors literally shut employee performance down and literally cost you money.

The Cost of Disrespect in the Workplace

No joke. According to statistics published by the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, US corporations paid $445.8 million to settle discrimination-related violations in 2012. These numbers only reflect those cases that actually went to court. They don't reflect those cases that were settled out of court.

The estimated cost with those included is about four times the actual amount of fines collected. The estimates of total cost of being "disrespectful" is at about $2 billion!

More costly than the money paid out, is the cost of productivity and human potential. It's no secret that the most profitable and successful companies are those that are also known as wonderful places to work.

Respect Comes Naturally

Meshanko has pulled together twelve rules of respect that are outlined in the book. The good news for most of us is that being respectful isn't hard work. Respect comes naturally for the vast majority of people.

One important insight for all small business owners to take seriously: The greater the authority a person has in an organization – the more damage they can do.

This is what makes these twelve best-behaviors critical for all leaders.

Be aware of your non-verbal and verbal cues.
Develop curiosity about the perspective of others.
Assume that everyone is smart about something.
Become a better listener by shaking your "but" (and replace with "and").
Look for opportunities to connect with and support others.
When you disagree, respectfully explain why.
Look for opportunities to grow, stretch and change.
Learn to be wrong on occasion.
Never hesitate to say you are sorry.
Intentionally engage others in ways the build their self-esteem.
Be respectful of time when making comments.
Smile!

See, nothing new here. You are already doing many of these things. The idea is to do them consciously and to manage yourself accordingly.

Will They Ever Learn?

As I read this book, I couldn't help but think the same thought I have every time I read a book like this, "If respect is so wonderful and generates more profitable and fun places to work, why do we continue to reward bad behavior?"

I'm not sure that Meshanko answers this question. I think the objective of getting this book into the market is to show and prove to as many organizations as possible that hiring and promoting managers and leaders with bad behavior is actually costing them money and access to great employees with great ideas.

I'm not sure if those people will ever learn.

But if you grab a copy of this book – you will certainly learn the profitability power of respect.

The post Read The “Respect Effect” to Build Leadership and Profitability appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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Monday, December 9, 2013