In the middle of entrepreneur are two little letters...PR. Two letters that immediatley bring to mind, press release, marketing, telling the story.  So why is it the PR in entrepreneur seems to be missing? Quick name five entrepreneurs. Now name five athletes. Im sure the latter was easier for you. Today we hear more about politicians, more about athletes and more about Hollywood stars than we do about entrepreneurs.  Its a shame because the reality is that entrepreneurs are the most important ones of the bunch. Instead of ESPN, where's EPN - Entrepreneurial Programing Network. Just imagine, on draft day we could watch the best young entrepreneurs get funded to develop their ideas.  The X games would be a series of ideas put the tests to determine who's invention faired best. Now I know its crazy to think about this and I'm well aware of the many media channels that cover business as it stands. The thing is the entrepreneur is not being celebrated enough and marketed correctly.  Not only is the entrepreneur responsible for the success of so many different industries  (sports, politics and Hollywood included) they are responsible for the success of America.

Which side of the digital divide are you on?   Are you a Luddite or a mayor on foursquare?  While you may have been able to straddle the divide over the past decade you will not be able to in the next. Soon being on the wrong side will at best lead to a life of complete frustration and at worst leave you powerless to interact affectively with society. Even worse, as an entrepreneur if you're on the wrong side of the divide you stand no chance of success in the coming decades. Here are some things to put in perspective about how far we've come in the last ten years. No one used Google (founded in 1999) No major social networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace) No one used online video (YouTube founded in 2005!) Broadband Internet was in .03% of US households (Today its 67%) 15% of US households has mobile phones (Today its 90%) MMS (picture messaging) didn't exist; SMS hardly used No Paypal MP3 portable players hardly existed (today 75%) When you read that list you may think, wow we've come a long way in a short time. However the next decade will have an even greater impact on the digital divide. There is a massive division being established between those whom embrace, manipulate and thrive in the current technological landscape and those that don't. Interestingly enough this division has nothing to do with socio-economic background or even age or gender.  It is strictly an aptitude and attitude.  The pace of technology and the network affects that are created only guarantee that this division will only get wider and wider. As an entrepreneur the greatest thing you could do to prepare yourself for this next decade is to embrace, learn and engage in technology as much as possible.  Don't get left on the wrong side. To help you keep up-to-date on the right side of digital divide I've created this free newsletter.  Sign up today.

"Attract more leads to your website today! " "Order now! Guaranteed to increase your website traffic!" " Triple your website traffic in 30 days!" I get so tired of these offers, it reminds me of the "half naked girls" tactic.  Every year I travel all around the world to attend boat shows for my company. Without fail every show I go to has one ingenious company that has figured out the tactic to drawing a crowd - half naked girls. By strategically placing women in bathing suits on the boat the crowds grow. It always amuses me to see the crowds gather around, I can't help but think how someone from that company must be saying "look at the crowds, what a great idea this is". The problem is that while there may be a crowd gathered around a) they aren't there to see the product and b) they couldn't afford it.  The tactic is attracting the wrong crowd.  This same principal holds true when it comes to attracting traffic to your website. The quickest sign to me that you have no idea what you are doing is by making one of these hollow, senseless, traffic increasing claims. Gathering a crowd for a crowds sake is not what your business is looking for. Attracting more website traffic is not your goal.  Attracting more qualified website traffic is. One hundred interested, motivated and qualified leads are much more important than boosting your traffic stats. The reality is most sites already get enough traffic, it's conversion to that next step in the sales process that they need to work on. However that's not to say that you shouldn't continually be working on ways of cultivating more qualified traffic to your site. Magnetize More Qualified Leads To Your Website So how do you go about building qualified traffic?  The tools that you want to focus on are many of the Internet Marketing ideas we cover at this website. Here's a list of 9 specific ways you can increase traffic.

If someone leaves a comment on your website should you answer them? What about if they give you a tip on Twitter, should you acknowledge it? Seems obvious that you should, but there are so many businesses that don't. Conversation isn't a one way street, that's just talking. If you are going to treat your Internet Marketing channels as a one way then you are setting your business up for failure. This is a common mistake I see many people making right now.  Many are concerned with pushing content out that they aren't taking the time to engage their audience, which after all is one of the corner stone reasons of all these online tools. Take The Time To Ask Questions When people leave a comment on any of your channels, take the time to answer them. Even better is to engage them. One of the ideas I picked up recently from Andrew Swenson was not just answering the comments but asking a question back. Great idea, thanks! By taking the time to engage others you can not only personalize the interaction, it will allow you to learn, share and develop a relationship.  These relationships are what will ultimately give you the permission to tell them more about your company. Not only that, but by engaging your customers you can learn how to better meet their needs. This is where small business has a huge advantage. The ability to get to know their customers more intimately than bigger competitors.  In fact it's what every big business is trying to do these days, act smaller. Don't just talk - listen, ask and engage.  It's what will help separate you from those that are traveling in one wrong direction. Which online tools do you find most useful for starting conversations with your customers? photo credit

Ding Dong, the doorbell at your house rings.  You haven't showered in weeks, your clothes are all tattered and you look like crap.  You drag yourself to the front door and, surprise, you have guests.  Everyone lets themselves in only to find that there in no furniture, no pictures on the wall, nothing! Just white walls, an empty house and you. I'd say you just made a horrible first impression, wouldn't you? That's what's it like when people go to your Twitter page. That is unless you've personalized it. Why Personalize That Twitter Page Nearly half of all Twitter users engage the site through Twitter.com, as opposed through a third party program such as Tweetdeck or Seesmic. That means millions can come to your page. What will they see first?  Let's hope its not an empty house.  Use the opportunity to show people something unique about yourself or company.  Give them a short excerpt on who and what your business is all about.  Don't ignore this space, it's another great branding opportunity for you to use to your advantage.