Microsoft Office

to Offer Tips for Using Social Media to Grow a Small Business. Free e-book explains how entrepreneurs can use social media tools to connect with and expand their customer base.

To help small businesses prioritize and navigate the social media landscape, marketing expert John Jantsch and Microsoft Office Live Small Business (http://www.smallbusiness.officelive.com) have created a free eBook titled “Let’s Talk: Social Media for Small Businesses,” available for download at http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/socialmedia/.

Determining what new social media tools should be used by small businesses can be a daunting task for time-strapped entrepreneurs. However, as millions of consumers continue to incorporate these tools into their daily lives, it’s clear that social media is no passing fad. In fact, as individuals are embracing social media more than ever, so too are small businesses. According to the latest study by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners Inc., over the next 12 months about 500,000 small businesses will use social networking as a resource for advertising and promotional activities.

The book offers the following tips:

• A Web site is priority one. Social media tools can enhance and extend a small business’s Web presence and ultimately drive more visitors back to its Web site. If the business already has Web site, its content should be up to date and give visitors a clear call to action, such as who to contact or how to get more information. If the business doesn’t have a Web site, tools such as Office Live Small Business (http://www.smallbusiness.officelive.com) can help get one started for free.

• Bet on blogging. Blogging is the doorway to other social marketing and where businesses can likely get excellent return for the time invested. Why? Because search engines love blog content. Creating frequent, keyword-rich posts can help a business show up more frequently in search results, as well as convey the personality behind the business. A business can provide a range of content such as tips and information on its products and services, industry trends, customer profiles and more. Customers can then comment, allowing businesses to engage them in conversation and deepen relationships.

Click the above link to read more.

Courtesy of Nancy BuchananKnow the recipient
Chances are that if you are making a gift for a friend or loved one, you already know their favorite colors, hobbies, pets, and other interests. It is important to think through what it is that they like or don’t like before you dig into your gift idea. For my project, I wanted to put together several gifts for each of my 10 year old daughters. The gifts for my daughter Julia are shown above. They all incorporate her love of the color green, animals, and bright and cheerful images. Younger children might like to see more pictures of them, teenagers might want more humorous or irreverent gifts, and adults might want gifts that relate directly to their hobbies.

Create custom note cards
I always have a few boxes of blank note cards for my printer on hand. You can buy them at your local office supply store in a variety of colors and sizes. A stack of pre-made cards with designs the recipient loves can be an easy, inexpensive, and considerate gift.

Start at the Template Gallery on Office Online
Most note cards made for printing have a model number or template number on the package. I usually search for the template number on Office Online first to see if there are any templates already available for my note cards. For my daughter I used the Friendship Card. I printed the cards on blank note cards I purchased from Office Max.
Note If a template isn’t available specifically for the note card you have, look for one that is the same size. You can also look on the Web site for the maker of the note cards; they usually have templates for Microsoft Word available for download.

The template opens in the program for which it was created, such as Word.

Produce padded notepads
Padded notepads use special glue called padding compound to stick a stack of pages together on one edge. You can purchase padding compound at most office supply stores. For this project you can print sheets with a decorative heading on the top, then stack the pages up and apply padding compound on one end to bind the paper together yet make it easy to tear a sheet off. Here is how I created 4 pads of paper, each with 40 sheets:

In Word, start with a blank document and then change the orientation to be Landscape, the margins to be narrow, and to use 2 columns. You can download the document I created in Word 2007 for my daughters here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC300035581033.aspx.
: There are a few times in life when buying a gift at a store just won’t do, especially if it’s too late to get to a store. And it’s definitely time to make a gift at home when the gift recipient is important enough to create something truly unique and personal. Whatever your motives, here are a few ideas how you can create these unique gifts at home: custom note cards, padded notepads, stickers, and tee shirts.

Print 40 sheets of the document on your printer. You can use plain printer paper.
Note This can also be a great way to use recycled paper. Instead of printing on new paper, just print your design on the blank side of recycled paper.

Cut each sheet of paper into 4 equal pieces. For example, cut the paper in the middle lengthwise and then again widthwise. Now you have 160 smaller pieces of paper.
• Divide the pieces of paper into 4 stacks of 40 pieces and then follow the padding compound’s instructions to pad one edge of the pieces of paper. I purchased padding compound from GreenLightOffice.com.
Note My padding compound’s instructions said to use a vice to hold the pages together while you paint on the compound. I didn’t have a vice handy so just stacked the pages between books with the end being padded sticking out far enough for me to paint it.

Home and Office Computer Users
Training materials from Microsoft Learning will help you use the enhanced intuitive design and improved features of the 2007 Microsoft Office system to get more out of the programs that you use every day. Find the resources—Microsoft E-Learning, classroom training, and books and training kits from Microsoft Press—that will help you start taking advantage of the new functionality in the 2007 Office system.

Microsoft E-Learning
If you learn best independently, Microsoft E-Learning courses provide a simple and effective way for you to learn at your own pace and on your own schedule. Take Microsoft E-Learning courses to improve your skills, prepare for a project, or earn certifications.

• View a list of Microsoft E-Learning courses on 2007 Office system applications in the Microsoft Learning Catalog

Books from Microsoft Press
Some of the biggest work challenges you face today—information overload, knowledge management, collaboration limitations, and localization issues—are directly addressed by new features in the 2007 Microsoft Office system.

• Find books from Microsoft Press

• View a list of Microsoft Press books about the 2007 Office system in the Microsoft Learning Catalog

Classroom training
Microsoft Certified Partners for Learning Solutions deliver Microsoft Learning training in a classroom environment. The training is facilitated by expert Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs).

• Locate a Learning Solutions partner near you

Microsoft Business Certification program
The Microsoft Business Certification program validates your job skills in using the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Microsoft Office SharePoint portal sites, and Windows Vista. Whether you want to stand out in the job market, improve and simplify your organization’s hiring processes, or empower your students to enter the workforce; the Microsoft Business Certification credential demonstrates that you have proven expertise that businesses will depend on.

• Learn more about the Microsoft Business Certification program

Free self-paced training courses for Office programs

Courtesy of Lorian: From a technical standpoint, becoming an online entrepreneur is pretty easy these days. Low-cost and user-friendly tools such as Store Manager make it easy to list your products on the Web, provide customers with a shopping cart, handle sales transactions, and manage other details.

But I think online store owners understand that running an e-commerce operation takes more than friendly and affordable technology. Setting up your store is just the start. Succeeding in an online business requires doing a number of other things well. Or conversely, avoiding some common mistakes.

In that spirit, I offer my top 10 blunders every online entrepreneur should avoid (in no particular order).

1. Selling too many products. If you sell funny hats online, don’t add MP3 players to your product lineup just because you purchased a wholesale lot. It will muddle your business focus and confuse your customers.

2. Doing no marketing. The “If-I-build-it-they-will-come” thinking just doesn’t work. You need to promote your online store. For starters, investigate online marketing tools such adManager keyword advertising and E-Mail Marketing.

3. Poor product display. Try not to bunch too much information or too many products on your pages. Messy, cluttered pages look unprofessional. Simple goes a long way.

4. Using fuzzy photos. No photos are better than bad photos. Make sure your product shots are sharp and clear. Get creative with your digital camera or hire a professional photographer. If you just need photos for illustrative purposes, you can get them pretty cheap from online stock photography services for as little as a buck a piece.

5. Failing to refresh your site periodically. Shoppers will lose interest in your site if you don’t add new items or at least change around the ones you feature. Also, mix it up by featuring special promotions. Give them reasons to come back.

6. Showing out-of-stock items. If one of your products is no longer available, even temporarily, remove it from your site or note it on your site that it is currently not available. You don’t want to tease customers or look like you can’t manage your inventory.

7. Making it hard to ask questions. You probably have a Contact Us page. But don’t make people search through your site to ask product questions. Have a customer service phone number or e-mail address conveniently displayed on product pages.

8. Hiding shipping fees and return policies. Online shoppers want to know delivery charges and return policies before they commit to a purchase. If you make these fees and policies hard to find, they’ll head off to another store.

9. Downplaying security and privacy. Not only is it important that you use a secure payment service, it’s important that you draw attention to it on your site. Likewise, you should provide a prominent link to your privacy policy to assure customers that their personal information isn’t shared. Learn more about how to do this.

10. Selling the wrong product. Not everything sells well on the Web. Inexpensive items that you can easily snag in most local stores are particularly a bad idea — especially when you add on the shipping costs.

If you’re eager for more tips, check out the article “5 holiday marketing mistakes to avoid.” With the big shopping season nearly upon us, it offers some timely advice for folks selling online.

Would you be surprised to hear that a new industry related to real estate, of all things, is taking off right now? I know I was when I read this Washington Post article about e-decorating:

Web-based interior design services are growing in popularity, even though the designer never steps foot in the room.

These services are faster and less expensive than the usual terms of a designer-client relationship, and they are largely conducted online. Clients typically e-mail photos of their rooms, fill out a questionnaire and pay a flat fee. Weeks later, sometimes sooner, they receive a customized design plan that can be implemented with pieces from retail stores and Web sites.

Cost-effective and convenient, Web consulting is just another example of the democratization of interior design, a luxury once afforded only by the wealthy. Fueled by an increasing number of cable TV shows, shelter magazines and design blogs, homeowners and renters of every income level have been inspired to put a personal stamp on their interiors. Web-based services not only encourage design, they make it easier to accomplish and allow clients more-affordable access to designers outside their geographical area.

“People now are design savvy. They want a designer, they want a designed house, but they can’t always afford one,” says Los Angeles designer Betsy Burnham. “Sometimes all they need is that master plan.”

In this case, customers can save on design expenses so they can put more of their money toward buying actual furnishings. For designer business owners, the service offers a way to reach new markets — customers with small projects or limited budgets — and to hang on to customers who may once have used full-on design services, but now are wary of spending that much in today’s economy.

So what can you take away from this? If you provide a personal or business service, such as organizing, personal training, or consulting, that normally requires meeting with clients one-on-one, think about creating an alternative, online-only version of your service that would offer scaled-back services at a scaled-back cost.

Consider the benefits: Instead of being limited to meeting with clients face-to-face during, say, 9 to 5 work hours, you can work on your online clients’ projects at any time. You save on gas and travel costs. And you enhance your online presence, which helps boost customers’ awareness of your business.

Is there a way you’ve used the Internet to transform how you offer your service? I’m curious to know.

Low-cost and no-cost survival tactics require a “business-as-usual mindset.”

According to Rieva Lesonsky, former editor of Entrepreneur and blogger for Microsoft Office Live Small Business (http://smallbusiness.officelive.com), entrepreneurs can use this time to cut back in certain areas and strategically invest in other areas, such as marketing. “It may seem counterintuitive, but increased marketing and sales activity can be an effective way to bolster your business and weather economic storms,” Lesonsky said. “In fact, marketing is a key component to your small business’ survival.”

So what should current and aspiring entrepreneurs do during these tough times? Lesonsky offers the following advice:

• Keep overhead low. Entrepreneurs should take a hard look at their expenses and scale back on nonessentials. Some big cost-cutting areas include business travel, labor and rent. For example: Entrepreneurs can try videoconferencing instead of traveling to a meeting; consider forgoing pricey office space and work from home instead; and re-examine their staffing plan to ensure they have the right amount of coverage for their current level of business, keeping overtime costs to a minimum.

• Make noise. In this economy, competitors are likely cutting back on marketing spending too. This provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to get their marketing message out in a potentially less cluttered environment, and possibly at a better rate too. In addition to traditional forms of advertising, entrepreneurs can take advantage of low-cost digital marketing tactics, such as creating a blog, building an audience with Twitter, staying on top of their ratings through online review sites such as Yelp, and creating company pages on social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

• Have a strong online presence. Increasingly, consumers are using the Web to find businesses of all sizes, so it’s really crucial that small businesses be visible online in order to compete. Today, there are a number of low- or no-cost options to help entrepreneurs establish a professional Web presence without the expense of hiring a designer or Web master. Microsoft Office Live Small Business (http://smallbusiness.officelive.com) provides entrepreneurs with a free Web site and hosting, a custom domain name and business e-mail free for the first year, low-cost e-commerce and online marketing tools, and free business management tools.

• “Hire” customers. Entrepreneurs can turn satisfied customers into a word-of-mouth referral engine for their business. They can consider offering referral fees or free services to encourage customers to refer new clients. Entrepreneurs can also ask customers to provide testimonials that can be showcased on the company Web site and marketing materials.

• Always negotiate. Entrepreneurs should keep in mind that everything is negotiable. When other businesses are cutting back, entrepreneurs are in a better position to negotiate for lower rates, better ad placements, lower telephone rate plans or other discounts such as on office supplies.

These and other small-business tips from Lesonsky can be found on the Office Live Small Business blog at http://www.myofficelivecommunity.com.

How can I use it?
There are dozens of ways to use Microsoft Office Live Workspace beta for work, school, and home projects.

For Work:

Access documents when away from your desk
Save documents and access them from any computer
Stay productive at home, an Internet café, library, airport, etc.
Share documents with others

Gather feedback on a document, report, or presentation
Share with people who can’t access your corporate network
Prepare for a meeting
Share the agenda, minutes, and action items
Post meeting handouts or presentations

For School:

Organize a study group
Work together on assignments and share notes from class
Keep a shared schedule and task list for your group
Keep track of important school information
Manage schedules from sports to registration deadlines

Track your GPA and progress toward degree requirements
Coordinate with club or team members
Post and manage schedules (for sports, clubs, etc.)
Share lists of who brings what (no more e-mails back and forth)

For Home:

Organize an event
Use for a party, camping trip, even a wedding
Share to-do lists, timelines, budgets, directions
Save your information and keep track of favorite things
Access important passwords, frequent flyer numbers, etc.
Create Top 10 lists of your favorite films, restaurants, books, etc.—and keep them private or share with friends and family

Prepare for a trip
Plan for the trip with travel budget and packing list templates
Share your itinerary, contact info, and important documents with colleagues or family

What is a workspace?
A workspace is an online place where you can save, access, and share documents and files. Use it to group related information for work, school, or personal projects. Sharing is easy – all you need is a person’s e-mail address and you can invite them to your workspace. You decide if they can edit or simply review. You can access your workspace from any computer with an Internet connection and a Web browser. Who is it for?
Anyone who uses Microsoft Office can benefit from this service. If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following questions, this service is for you:

Do you save information on a flash drive or send yourself documents via e-mail to work on later?
Do you need to access work files when away from your office?
Do you need to access school documents when away from your desk (at the library, home on break, etc.)?
Do you share documents via e-mail and then manually merge all the comments later?
Do you use e-mail to coordinate and share information with your sports clubs, PTA, study group, etc?
Are you planning an event and coordinating with multiple people or vendors?

Open, edit, and save documents, workbooks, and presentations in the file formats new to Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007.

Overview
Users of the Microsoft Office XP and 2003 programs Word, Excel, or PowerPoint—please install all High-Priority updates from Microsoft Update before downloading the Compatibility Pack.

By installing the Compatibility Pack in addition to Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able to open, edit, and save files using the file formats new to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007. The Compatibility Pack can also be used in conjunction with the Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003, Excel Viewer 2003, and PowerPoint Viewer 2003 to view files saved in these new formats. For more information about the Compatibility Pack, see Knowledge Base article 924074.

Note: If you use Microsoft Word 2000 or Microsoft Word 2002 to read or write documents containing complex scripts, please see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925451 for information to enable Word 2007 documents to be displayed correctly in your version of Word.

Administrators: The administrative template for the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint converters contained within the Compatibility Pack is available for download.

System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000 Service Pack 4; Windows Server 2003; Windows Vista; Windows XP Service Pack 1; Windows XP Service Pack 2
Recommended Microsoft Office programs:

Microsoft Word 2000 with Service Pack 3, Microsoft Excel 2000 with Service Pack 3, and Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 with Service Pack 3

Microsoft Word 2002 with Service Pack 3, Microsoft Excel 2002 with Service Pack 3, and Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 with Service Pack 3

Microsoft Office Word 2003 with at least Service Pack 1, Microsoft Office Excel 2003 with at least Service Pack 1, and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 with at least Service Pack 1

Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003

Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003

Instructions
To install this download:

Ensure your system is up to date by installing all High-Priority/Required updates on Microsoft Update (required for Microsoft Office XP and 2003 users).

After installing all High-Priority/Required updates with Microsoft Update, download the Compatibility Pack by clicking the Download button above and saving the file to your hard disk.

Double-click the FileFormatConverters.exe program file on your hard disk to start the setup program.

Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.

To remove this download:

On the Windows Start menu, click Control Panel.

Select Add/Remove Programs.

In the list of currently installed programs, select Compatibility Pack for the 2007 Office system and then click Remove or Add/Remove. If a dialog box appears, follow the instructions to remove the program.

Click Yes or OK to confirm that you want to remove the program.

Customers worldwide use Microsoft Office Live Workspace beta in 11 languages as an on-ramp to Web-based storage and sharing.

Microsoft Corp. today announced that only six months after public availability, the beta release of Microsoft Office Live Workspace has reached the 1-million-customer sign-up milestone.

Office Live Workspace beta (http://workspace.officelive.com) is the free, Web-based extension of Microsoft Office that lets people access their documents online and share their work with others. The Workspace beta was among the first entries in the new wave of online services that embody Microsoft’s software-plus-services vision previewed last fall. In just six months, it has achieved significant interest from consumers, schools and universities globally, and has added 11 languages and 20 new features such as multi-file upload, activity panels and improved Firefox support.

“The pace at which people are signing up for the beta tells us that they are looking for ways to resolve the complexities of their work, school and home projects through a range of choices,” said Kirk Gregersen, director of consumer and small-business product management for Microsoft Office. “It takes companies years to attract a strong customer base such as this. We’re excited about Office Live Workspace growth and innovation yet to come.”

Office Live Workspace Beta Celebrates Its Half-Birthday

Keeping up with the fast pace of innovation, Office Live Workspace beta has grown since its introduction six months ago on March 3, 2008. Based on customer feedback, many new and notable features have been added to the service:

• Activity panel. The activity panel shows all the activity in a Workspace at a glance.

• Notifications. People can receive e-mail notifications about changes made to their Workspace or documents.

• Direct links. People can bookmark a Workspace or a Workspace item via a unique URL in a browser window.

• Multi-file upload. Users can upload several files simultaneously by simply dragging and dropping from their desktop.

• Improved sharing. Sharing functionality includes an easier user interface and auto-completion of e-mail addresses.

• Firefox support. With the Office Live Update 1.2, improved support for the Firefox Web browser includes an “edit button” for Office documents and the ability to upload multiple files through that browser.

Originally launched worldwide in English, Office Live Workspace beta is now available in Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Spanish and Traditional Chinese, bringing the total number of languages to 11.

“One in a Million” Shares His Story

Customers all over the world are finding that Office Live Workspace beta provides a central place for easy, immediate document sharing. People are using the Office Live Workspace beta to track and communicate health status to family members and to doctors; share ideas and research among a small group of clergy; and plan a wedding or family reunion. Twelve Live@edu universities and colleges across the U.S., including the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Washington and Vanderbilt University, were early adopters of the Office Live Workspace beta. Students, faculty members and administrators all enhanced sharing and collaboration within the classroom among student teams and extracurricular projects. Approximately 72 percent of the students that piloted Office Live Workspace beta reported that they plan to continue using the service, and 89 percent would recommend the service to a friend.

Get to your documents from anywhere - and it’s free!

Access files from anywhere

Access documents from almost any computer with a Web browser
No more flash drives—documents are there when and where you need them
Password-protected sharing; you control who can view and edit your work

Work with programs you know

Save over 1,000 Microsoft Office documents in one online place
Open and save files from familiar programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
Synchronize contact, task, and event lists with Outlook

How much does Microsoft Office Live Workspace cost?

It’s free. No purchase or credit card information is required. Microsoft Office Live Workspace beta may eventually include advertising, but we’re still testing different designs. At some point, we may also offer additional features or services at a charge.

What is a workspace?

A workspace is an online place where you can save, access, and share documents and files. Use it to group related information for work, school, or personal projects. Sharing is easy – all you need is a person’s e-mail address and you can invite them to your workspace. You decide if they can edit or simply review. You can access your workspace from any computer with an Internet connection and a Web browser.

Who is it for?

Anyone who uses Microsoft Office can benefit from this service. If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following questions, this service is for you:

Do you save information on a flash drive or send yourself documents via e-mail to work on later?
Do you need to access work files when away from your office?
Do you need to access school documents when away from your desk (at the library, home on break, etc.)?
Do you share documents via e-mail and then manually merge all the comments later?
Do you use e-mail to coordinate and share information with your sports clubs, PTA, study group, etc?
Are you planning an event and coordinating with multiple people or vendors?