1. Thinking of starting your own business?
2. We will be accepting PayPal for projects <$500
3. Small Businesses! Use PR to increase sales
4. Tip: Graphic designers and copywriters! Don't abandon the ol' Alt tag

We're Hsuan-min Chou and Blythe Howard-Chou, founders of Jumping Bean Communications. Do you know someone who can use our marketing writing or technical writing services? Forward this newsletter to a friend or colleague, or point them to www.jumpbean.com.

1. Thinking of starting your own business?

Just because we're in the middle of a recession doesn't mean that businesses can forego their marketing initiatives. Businesses big and small just need to use their dwindling resources better, and target their marketing more narrowly. That is to say, Make the Marketing Count.

So who are you going to target?

One niche is the newly unemployed! >>

Interesting to read: When should advertisers focus on you versus your entire family?

2. We now accept PayPal for projects <$500

Are you a small to mid-sized business and don't necessarily have a good, reliable payroll system? Or want to use your business credit card to pay online (and earn those rewards)? Well, if your project is $500 or less, and you have an Internet connection (and what small to mid-sized business doesn't?), then you can come over to Jumping Bean, and do the PayPal dance.

It's faster, easier, and safer than sending a check >>.

3. Small Businesses! Use PR to increase sales

When first starting out, most small businesses are focused on the cost of running their business, and the return on their inventory (or service). Getting people to buy your product or service is, after all, the goal.

And when you're in a recession, you not only need to tell people why they need your product or service—you need to do it quickly, effectively, and without it costing a fortune.

Think we did an outstanding job on your collateral? Don't keep it inside. Tell the world! Leave a favorable review at Yelp! or LinkedIn and get 10% off your next project!

4. Improve customer satisfaction with technical documentation

Nothing says, "Wow, this company cares," than by including technical documentation. I remember purchasing a PDA that didn't come with documentation. I wasn't terribly annoyed because I was upgrading to a newer model, so I knew most of the product's features. But when the product went berserk, and a soft reset wasn't fixing things, I didn't remember how to do a "hard reset". And the company didn't bother to include a user guide.

So, annoyed, I went to the device maker's support site, downloaded the PDF, and found my answer. But what a frickin hassle!

Nothing irks a user more than having to go to a support site to find something that should have been included! Even if it's just a PDF on the CD, at least it shows you care... sort of.

Jumping Bean can develop user guides, online help, and other support materials for your products or services. In fact, we're currently developing marketing and support documentation for Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business Management!

Learn more about our technical writing services >>

5. Tip: Graphic designers and copywriters! Don't abandon the ol' Alt tag

As security threats grow, email packages (Outlook, Thunderbird, even the online services) are blocking images from commercial sites. Even good ol' Bean News' images are blocked at some companies. But a way to get around this, and still deliver your message—especially if your images are just text blocks—is to use alt tags.

Use alt tags to deliver your message >>

Hsuan did a great job writing competitive response pieces for our internal sales team.

He understood our goals... and made them easy-to-read so HP’s team could quickly address potential situations with customers.

Andy Binder
Director, HP

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Thanks...for your work in the short time you were here. We'll certainly keep you in mind... for additional freelance help.

T. Gorman, Manager
Corporate Branding and Creative Services
Discover Financial Services

Amy has definitely expressed her positive feedback with your work and is impressed with your strategic copywriting abilities!

Recruiter
Visa Account
Direct Mail Agency

Did I overhear right that you were leaving after today? Bummer... You were a great help.

B.S, Copywriter
Walgreens

Thanks! I really appreciate all your hard work [on the EMEA course catalog]!

D. Carter, Manager
Motorola University
Motorola

Nice work. I really like the tone [of your catalog copywriting].

E.W, VP New Business
Specialty Store Services

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