Read the following excerpt from www.opensource.org:

“Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.”

A system that once cost you $100,000 five years ago could be developed for $10,000 - maybe even $8,000!  This allows businesses like yours to have tailored development solutions without skimping out on necessary features that your unique business processes require.

It is also important to update your content at least 3x week to keep things “fresh”. The updates do not need to be wordy or long. In fact, shorter is sometimes better.

If you feel comfortable writing your own blogs and articles, you can get started right away.  Otherwise, it might be a good idea to hire a copy writing professional.

Great Park Balloon in Orange County, CA

What if you could advertise your business 400 feet in the air almost every day for all of Orange County to see?  Well, that’s what the marketing team decided on for Orange County’s new Great Park. (Read more about the park at the end of this article.)

The Great Park Balloon carries up to 12 passengers 400 feet in the air on a daily business - even operating at night!  On a clear day, you can see Newport Coast, Catalina, and downtown LA.  If you have driven down the 405 and 5 freeways in the last couple of years - it’s hard to miss!

Obviously, this is not possible for 99.99% of businesses.  But the cost of such a balloon was not a “Great” expense for the money behind this operation - it was just clever.  It’s a fun, eye-catching, and interactive way for orange county residents to participate and learn about the park.

There are two marketing and advertising ideas that came to mind:

• Repetition
  I drove down the 5 freeway every day for 1.5 years, passing the balloon and thinking to myself “I wonder what that is?” and “I should go check that out!” until I finally went to the visitor center.  Repetition! Repetition! Repetition!  If they had stopped 1 day short in their balloon rides, I would not be sharing this information with you today and their dollars would have gone to waste on me.
• Every Business Can Do It! What’s Your Big Orange Balloon?
  Every business has the potential to take advantage of clever marketing.  Your great marketing idea does not have to be a huge percentage of your budget.  Think creatively. Think big!

From the Orange County Great Park Website:

The Orange County Great Park Plan will provide a wide array of active and passive uses, including a 2.5 mile canyon and lake, miles of walking and biking trails, a cultural terrace, Orange County’s largest sports park, a botanical garden, and a tethered helium observation balloon that will be an icon for the Great Park. More than 3,885 of the 4,700 acres will be dedicated to open space, education, and other public uses.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
SEO relates to optimizing your website for leading search engines to properly index your site to give you the highest ranking as possible.

For example, if you are a flower shop in Chanute, KS and your customer searches for “flowers in Kansas”, you want your website to rank on the front page of sites look Google and Yahoo!.  To get high placement, you need to properly setup your pages for the web spiders and robots to properly index your site.

Although this can be a tedious process and can take up to 90+ days to see results, it is an effective part of any internet marketing program.