Blog Your Way to New Customers and Repeat Business
I’m happy to have another guest post by best selling author Corey Perlman to share with you. Today Corey delves into many virtues of using your blog to attract and retain customers. Take it away Corey…
I already know something very unique about every single person who is reading this article. No, I’m not channeling David Blaine or spending too much time watching reruns of Mind Freak, I just know each and every one of you is an expert on at least one topic in his or her field.
I also know that you have a massive audience via the World Wide Web that is eager to hear what you have to say. Regardless of your profession, you have information that we need and that’s what makes it valuable.
Let’s use a dentist or dental hygienist as an example. They know how to keep our teeth healthy and pearly white. If they provided that information free of charge, wouldn’t you read it? I know I would – especially with that candy jar sitting outside of my office.
What if you were in the market for a new home and a real estate agent gave you free tips on how to negotiate when buying a new home? I bet many new home buyers would be first in line to gobble that information up. And I could go on and on with other examples.
Channel Your Expertise
The point is everyone has valuable information to share with the public and the Internet has provided a vehicle to get your message out to the masses quickly and effectively. That vehicle is called a blog (or web log or online journal for us non-techies out there) and it is a web page where you can publish content for others to read and comment on. Blogs are easy to use and you can set one up absolutely free. Isn’t the Internet great!
My blogging site of choice is www.blogger.com and I like them for two reasons. First, it’s very user friendly and perfect for the beginner blogger. And most importantly, it’s owned by a company you may have heard of called Google!
Chorus of Readers: Why do we care that it’s owned by Google?
Corey: Great question readers!
Take Advantage of Search Engines
As I touched on earlier, a blog is a Web page and a Web page can be ranked in search engines such as Google. In fact, blogs are very popular with the search engines because they like content heavy web pages and blogs are simply loaded with content.
So if you are looking to increase your overall presence on the largest search engine in the world, why not use the blogging tool that they own.
Content is Key
Chorus of Readers: I like it! But I’m still not sure what I should write about.
“If you provide value, they will come.” Ok, so Kevin Costner I am not, but the message is still the same. Give high value content in your blog posts and you will begin to gain a following. And the exciting part is people will come back again and again as they will have become addicted to your content.
Value First – Sell Second
Chorus of Readers: Ok, but where’s the new customers and repeat business come from?
I thought you’d never ask. Once you have people reading your blog and gaining value, you can softly sell your products or services without offending your audience. So my philosophy is provide value first, sell second.
My world is Internet marketing, so I might write a post in my blog about how to rank high in Google and then my next post might be an invitation to one of my workshops. And they won’t be put off by my self promotion because I sell rarely and provide value often.
Chorus of Readers: Ok, we have work to do, any final words?
Remember Two Things
I will leave you with the two most important things to remember when creating content in blogs. First, what words are people searching for on Google that you’d love to have your Blog appear at the top of the page? Use those words over and over again when writing in your blog. Search engines evaluate frequency when determining where to rank web pages on their site. Finally, always remember to Hurl Your URL! That simple means to provide a link on your blog to your main Website so people can easily go there for more information about you or your company.
Chorus of Readers: This is great! By the way, who are you?
Corey Perlman is the author of the #1 Amazon.com bestseller eBoot Camp: Proven Internet Marketing Techniques to Grow Your Business. The book provides easy-to-do strategies and techniques to help you market your business on the Web. It covers topics such as social networking sites, Web site optimization, online articles and press releases, video marketing, and much more. To learn more about eBoot Camp or to purchase a copy, go to www.ebootcampbook.com.
Photo Credit: Mexicanwave
Can’t visit Small Biz Bee on a regular basis? You can stay up to date by having the latest Small Biz Bee news delivered to you for free via RSS or Email.
For exclusive Small Biz Bee content and offers, sign up for our free newsletter:
The Easiest Way to Sell Stuff EVER
If you’re in business you’re selling stuff. And if you’re selling stuff you can always sell more of it.
The following three steps are the easiest way to sell more stuff, and are used in one form or another by countless businesses, and marketers to sell more stuff than they ever thought possible.
Whether you’re writing sales copy, ad copy, or selling face to face here’s your framework:
Step one: Here’s what I got
Come right out and say it. You can use those exact words if you want to, just tell your customer “Here’s what I got”. This is the easiest way to communicate to the would be customer that you have a product for sale, and they should be looking at it.
Step two: Here’s what it will do for you
Once again, be direct, honest and transparent. Tell your customer what you’re product or service will do for them. No candy coating, no fluff. Show and/or explain the benefits. If what you got is good, it’s something they want, and will help them, you really don’t need to do anything more than tell that to the customer.
Step three: Here’s what I want you to do next
No surprise here, yes you can just come out and say this…word for word if you want to. Don’t do everything right in your sales methods only to drop the ball when it comes to closing the deal. You’re in the business of selling things, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you or your customer when you come out and say you want them to buy your stuff. You can be blunt about it, as long as you are backing it up with solid reasons why they should give you their money.
Yes it’s really that simple!
That’s it – when you’re selling it comes down to telling the would be customer:
- Here’s what I got
- Here’s what it will do for you
- Here’s what I want you to do next
Everyone in business can do those three things, yet so few actually do. Keep this framework in mind the next time you go to sell something and see how well it works for you.
The key to "The Easiest Way to Sell More Stuff EVER” is to keep it simple, don’t make it more difficult than it needs be. If you have a product people want, or will help them solve a problem they have, keep it simple, get out of your own way, and sell it to them.
Here’s what I want you do next. If you find this kind of information helpful, sign up for our newsletter below so I can send you even more good stuff for free.
Photo Credit: jespis’ photostream
Can’t visit Small Biz Bee on a regular basis? You can stay up to date by having the latest Small Biz Bee news delivered to you for free via RSS or Email.
For exclusive Small Biz Bee content and offers, sign up for our free newsletter:
10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make
When it comes to making mistakes, I can tell you I’ve made my share.
Each of the 10 mistakes commonly made by entrepreneurs I have made, a couple I’ve made on more than one occasion. The key is to learn, get better, and let the past be your guide for the future.
1. Creating projections to make the numbers work
As entrepreneurs we usually believe so fully in our idea, or business concept, that we end up “tweaking” the numbers just a bit to validate our beliefs. It’s usually not intentional, and seems harmless at the time to say “yeah, maybe we’ll get 1.5% of the market instead of 1%…yep, see now look how wildly successful this will be!”. Or saying things like, “Nah, I really don’t think expenses will run at 30% of revenue…it’s probably more like 28%”. Do your diligence, make your projections as accurately as you can, and live with what the bottom line number tells you.
2. Overestimating market potential
You’re so sure of you product, and know your service will change lives that you just can’t see how you won’t capture at least 75% of the market…right?
3. Overestimating necessity of what you do or provide
Not only will you capture that 75% of the market, there is no way anyone can live without you and your company. They’d be fools not to line up at your door…right?
4. Believing you can do it all yourself
So easy to fall into the trap of doing it all. Nobody is an expert at everything, and if somebody tells you they are either they are trying to fool you or themselves. Know what you don’t know, and accept the help of experts. That doesn’t make you weak, it makes you stronger.
5. Underestimate time lines
Conception to launch in 5 weeks, no problem! Your enthusiasm will lead you to believe you can do things quicker than is humanly possible. Set timelines that push you, but keep in mind what is realistic.
6. If, then outlooks
If I get funding, then I’ll be able to hire the best managers in the world. If this idea goes well, then I’ll write a business plan. If we get some sales, then we’ll do more marketing…etc, etc.
7. Believing that short term goals will lead to long term success
If you keep achieving your short term goals, you should be on the right track long term, correct? Not so fast, unless you tied your long term (3-5 years) goals to short term achievements, there is nothing to say you’re going in the right direction. Short term goals without a long term focus is akin to racing between telephone poles without knowing where the finish line is.
8. Underestimating current and future competition
It’s easy to think you will dominate the market due to your superior business model, and underestimate the competition. You may well dominate, but the fact that they are in the market before you gives them an inherent advantage. Respect it, and build it into your analysis. Also, remember that new competition can always enter the market, so while you kicking butt don’t forget there could be a bully out there ready to take your lunch money.
9. Thinking that if you see the value in what you do your customers will too
Don’t assume your customers are just going to “get” what you’re doing, or see the value in it just because you do. Make sure you are “reminding” them, in your marketing, advertising, and branding messages.
10. Forget that building a business is different than running one
These two are not one in the same. The adrenaline rush you feel in the startup phase is very different than what it feels like to run a business day in and day out. When that adrenaline rush wanes, some entrepreneurs will feel let down. Hopefully you’ll still find running a business exciting, but some find that they enjoy the building phase more than the daily operations of doing business.
Photo Credit: swamysk’s photostream
Can’t visit Small Biz Bee on a regular basis? You can stay up to date by having the latest Small Biz Bee news delivered to you for free via RSS or Email.
For exclusive Small Biz Bee content and offers, sign up for our free newsletter:
Best of the Best for April
It It was a fast and furious month here at Smallbizbee.com, and in case you had a hard time keeping up with the action, here are our most popular articles for April.
The Best of the Best
The following were the most read, most tweeted, or most commented on that we published this month.
- World’s Most Ethical Companies
- 7 Signs You’re Not Ready for Business Ownership
- 105 Absolutely Free Online Business Videos and Lectures
- Over 90 Field Tested Guerrilla Marketing Tactics
- Four Lazy Business Mistakes
- Contest: What Would You Put in Your Store?
- One Quick Tip to Get More Sales
- The Vanity Advantage
- 5 Characteristics of Great Business Names
If you find any of these articles particularly helpful, please help us spread the word and pass them on to your friends
Can’t visit Small Biz Bee on a regular basis? You can stay up to date by having the latest Small Biz Bee news delivered to you for free via RSS or Email.
For exclusive Small Biz Bee content and offers, sign up for our free newsletter:
The Giveaway Get’em Back Marketing Strategy
For an ice cream lover yesterday was a good day. For someone looking for a textbook case study in marketing mastery, it was a great day.
If you don’t live two blocks from a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream location like I do you may have missed what all the hub-bub as about. It turns out that every April the good folks and Ben & Jerry’s give out a free scoop of ice cream to anyone that comes through the door. Awesome!
But they didn’t stop there, they also gave every individual a coupon for 10% off…not 10% off their next purchase, or 10% off until next week…we all got 10% every single purchase for an entire year! Double awesome!
It was the combination of Ben & Jerry’s “Giveaway and Get’em Back” that leads us to today’s topic, and a super powerful marketing combination.
First the Giveaway
Ben & Jerry’s knows they have a great product. The only thing they have to do is to get you to know that. What’s the easiest way to turn your customers onto your great product and service? Give it to them!
If you believe you have a product that people will fall in love with, or a service that people can’t live without – get out there and start giving it away! This is a tough step for some businesses, they feel like all those giveaways are lost income or just another expense. Flip the thinking – look at your giveaway as the marketing tool it is.
Tips for a Successful Giveaway
- Have a great product/service!
- There is no sense in giving away an adequate product, or a service that is just good enough. We (customers) can get enough of that almost anywhere.
- Really give it away
- Not a small sample, or a discount. Don’t go cheap here. Ben & Jerry’s gave out a full sized scoop of any ice cream they serve, in a cup or a cone. They want you experiencing the whole product-give your customers the same.
- Be enthusiastic about your giving away the house
- The more excited you are to get your product into your customers hands the more enthusiastic they will be about receiving it, and the more they will talk it up with everyone they know.
- Treat it as opportunity, not expense
- Everything you give away is marketing. It’s guaranteeing you’ll get more business – if your product/service a great as you think it is.
Now the Get’em Back
Once you’ve got your stellar product in the hands of your consumer don’t stop there. In order to properly deliver the marketing knockout you’ve got to do something to get them back.
Having a product they love, or the service that is a life saver, is step one. That is enough to get them thinking about coming back to you time and again. But don’t leave it up to chance, with your giveaway incorporate a “Get’em back”.
What was Ben & Jerry’s Get’em back? The simple coupon, good for 10% off for a year. As I was standing there eating free ice cream they gave me a not so gentle reminder that they’d like to see me again, and they made it worth my while to stop back by.
The “Get’em back” tactic you use will vary based on your business, but to see maximum results you need to tell the customers you want their business. Don’t leave it up to chance.
Tips for a Successful Get’em Back
- Go as big as you can
- I wouldn’t be talking about this if Ben & Jerry’s gave me 10% off my next purchase, that’s ordinary. What they did by extending the offer a year is extraordinary.
- Make it easy
- No hoops to jump through. Nothing to fill out, no forms to send in, your goal is to get them back in your shop and the least amount of steps they have to take the more likely you’ll see them again.
- Also make the deal easy to communicate. They should be able to tell somebody else about you and your offer in a couple seconds, get that word of mouth working for you!
- Ask for their business
- We’ve talked about this before, but it bears repeating. Ask your customer to come back. A simple, “come back and see us” may be enough to make you the top of the mind provider.
A Powerful Combination
The Giveaway -Get’em Back strategy is an extremely powerful combination. First you seed your target market with your products and/or services then you make it worth their while to come back and see you. It works because they get to touch/see/feel what you do, become familiar with you, and they have the not so subtle reminder they should come back to you again and again. If you this right it can become your most effective form of marketing. Happy consumers, with an incentive to come back, all the while spreading the word for you. It doesn’t get better than that.
Can’t visit Small Biz Bee on a regular basis? You can stay up to date by having the latest Small Biz Bee news delivered to you for free via RSS or Email.
For exclusive Small Biz Bee content and offers, sign up for our free newsletter:
Guy Kawasaki on Listening to Your Customers
Here’s a short video from Guy Kawasaki that can serve as a reminder to us all what is most important when running our businesses.
Listening to our customers.
Listen to your customers and your noncustomers, emphasizes Kawasaki. People who are not your customers are going to buy your product and use it in ways that you would not expect.
Guy Kawasaki on Listening to Your Customers
Running time: 2min 14sec
Photo Credit:ky_olsen
Can’t visit Small Biz Bee on a regular basis? You can stay up to date by having the latest Small Biz Bee news delivered to you for free via RSS or Email.
For exclusive Small Biz Bee content and offers, sign up for our free newsletter:
World’s Most Ethical Companies 2009
Hopefully as you are building and growing your business you’re keeping your ethical responsibilities in mind.
In a “dog eat dog” world it can be tempting to comprise ethics in order to get ahead, but according to the latest study from The Ethisphere Institute, doing business in an ethical manner can be, well, good for business.
Ethical Companies Outperform
Past performance of the world’s most ethical companies have significantly outperformed the S&P 500 over the past five years according to the research from the Ethisphere Institute.
So while it may be tempting to check your ethics at the door in an effort to capture outsized profits, this research would indicate that good guys don’t always finish last!
This would indicate that ethics should be high on your list of priorities for you and your business, perhaps even a piece of your mission should speak to your ethical business practices, in order to act as a reminder of their importance.
The Worlds Most Ethical Selection Process
The Ethisphere Institute uses a rigorous selection process when deciding who makes the list. Per their website, the selection process includes:
1. The Methodology
A methodology committee of leading attorneys, professors, government officials and organization leaders, assisted Ethisphere in creating the scoring methodology for the World’s Most Ethical Companies awards.
2. Candidate Selection
Over the course of the year, companies across the world submitted their applications to become 2009 World’s Most Ethical Companies. Based on these applications, as well as information Ethisphere gathered throughout the year, a list of semi-finalists was created.
3. In-Depth Analysis
At this stage, semi-finalist companies were notified and given an in-depth survey questionnaire to fill out regarding their ethics and compliance program, governance and corporate responsibility.
4. Further Refinement
Ethisphere then conducted data analyses on hundreds of companies based on their responses to the survey, as well as documents and information researched and requested by Ethisphere to confirm survey responses. Every company was then given an EQ score based on the results of the survey and measured against seven distinct categories. These categories were Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Innovation that Contributes to the Public Well Being; Industry leadership; Executive Leadership and Tone from the Top; Legal, Regulatory and Reputation Track Record; and Internal Systems and Ethics/Compliance Program.
Corporate citizenship and responsibility: 20%
How does the company respond to the community and workplace, what is the company’s sustainability track record and how does it audit its supply chain? Ethisphere factored in placement on major sustainability lists, such as FTSE4Good Index Series.
Corporate governance: 10%
Is the company properly aware of potential value conflicts at and around the company and address those conflicts in an effective way?
Innovation that contributes to public well being: 15%
Does the company provide products, services and/or process innovation that positively contributes to public well-being?
Industry leadership: 5%
How does the company set industry standards for business ethics and compliance, corporate governance, responsibility, sustainable development and environmental protection?
Executive leadership and tone from the top: 15%
Does the company have strong and visible executive leadership on ethics, corporate governance and citizenship?
Legal, regulatory and reputation track record: 20%
What is the legal history of the company?
Internal systems and ethics/compliance program: 15%
Does the company have satisfactory internal control systems, including a leading Code of Conduct, whistle-blower policies, prevention and detection controls, etc?
2009’s Worlds Most Ethical Companies
The highest EQ scores for each industry became this year’s 2009 World’s Most Ethical Companies.
Summary
Take a few minutes to look over the list of companies selected. These are some of the most well respected and profitable companies in the world, and they are doing business ethically. Try to emulate some of what they do with your own business and I am sure you will benefit from what could be called an ethical advantage.
Can’t visit Small Biz Bee on a regular basis? You can stay up to date by having the latest Small Biz Bee news delivered to you for free via RSS or Email.
For exclusive Small Biz Bee content and offers, sign up for our free newsletter:
Starting a Business? Find Something to Sell That is Close to Home
Business is hard enough without the business owner making it harder than need be. Here Brian Linton, founder of Sand Shack, talks about how he keeps it simple with his business by keeping it close to home.
Struggling to find the right product or service to sell?
You may not realize it, but business opportunities are all around you. When thinking of a business to start many people fail to realize that they don’t have to look far away to find a product or service to sell.
Most successful business ideas develop because of the unavoidable, obvious truth that, “everyone is different.”
So what does this have to do with entrepreneurship?
Each person has unique resources, knowledge, or experiences to build a successful company from – it is just a matter of exposing them.
When I turned towards entrepreneurship as a college student 3 years ago I came up with a ton of good idea. One of the ideas that I seriously considered implementing was buying and developing remote tropical islands in the Philippines. Ok, don’t laugh, I seriously considered doing this. Because I grew up overseas I speak Mandarin Chinese and I thought I could buy an island, fit it with a house and a helicopter pad and then sell it to some rich Chinese business mogul. Although to me the Philippines and China were “close to home” (I grew up in Singapore) – I obviously did not have the resources to carry out such an endeavor, as I realized $1000 would not be enough!
You Don’t Have to Have a Novel Idea or Innovative Product
Eventually I found something that was close to home, easy to get, and something a scalable business model could be built around. The idea? Buying beaded necklaces from Thailand and selling them under my own brand in Cape Cod, Massachusetts during my summer vacation from college. It wasn’t a novel or innovative idea but it was ‘close to home’ for a variety of reasons.
First off, because I grew up in Singapore I have friends all over South East Asia, including Thailand. Secondly, whenever I would visit the United States I would go to Cape Cod to see my grandparents, and during college this is where I would spend my summers. While going back and forth between Asia and America I made the simple realization that all the beachy, choker, shell necklaces being sold in Cape Cod for $10 could be purchased in Thailand for $0.20. Hence, Sand Shack was born.
Obviously, jewelry is a very competitive industry, however, truth be told, you can make money selling anything – the key is finding something ‘close to home’ to sell. Something you can easily get or develop. And although I looked in areas across the globe for my business, this to me was close to home – it was a natural and un-daunting process for me to carry out, and it was something I knew I had a competitive advantage doing.
3 Steps to Find Out What You Can Sell That Are Close to Your Home
So when you are choosing what your company will sell, take note to the following steps. Following these three simple steps will not guarantee your success, success will be based upon your merit to sell what you chose, however, following these steps will ensure that you enjoy, and are passionate about, what you are selling.
1. Decide what you are passionate about. What do you love?
2. Find out what product or service you can easily offer. What can you offer that is already close to home?
3. Research the market for the items you have chosen. Can you make money offering these products or services?
About the Author:
Brian Linton is the Founder of Sand Shack, an environmentally friendly brand of resort merchandise sold in stores across the United States. Brian is an entrepreneur, world traveler, and avid writer at his blog Brianlinton.com. Brian can be reached at brian [at] sandshack.com and followed @brianlinton
Photo Credit: martinreach
Can’t visit Small Biz Bee on a regular basis? You can stay up to date by having the latest Small Biz Bee news delivered to you for free via RSS or Email.
For exclusive Small Biz Bee content and offers, sign up for our free newsletter:
The Vanity Advantage
Just admit it – we’ve all done it – a time or two, when you didn’t think anyone was looking, you typed your own name into Google just to see what would come up.
I’ve done it, more out of curiosity than a feeling that something may be lurking out there, but I’ve always felt a bit vain searching for myself. And as we all know, vanity is so unbecoming.
However, while vanity may be frowned upon at a personal level, I would encourage you to embrace your vainity when it comes to your business.
The Vanity Advantage
In business, vain is an advantage. Being aware of what is being said about you, what image your business portrays, and how you are perceived by your customer are critical to your success.
Embrace the vanity. Take an active and on going interest in knowing what is being said about you, and preen for your customer. Not only is it okay from a business perspective, I would encourage it!
Get Your Vanity Check On
Doing a routine vanity check on your business will help keep your finger on the pulse of your customer, fill holes in your service model, and more readily meet your customers needs. So where do you start?
Just like you Googled your name…Google your business. See what comes up, where are you listed, how do you rank online.
Look at review services like Yelp, or if you sell a product take a look at Epinions.
Start listening to the conversations being had about you online. Search Twitter conversations for your business, your product, or for comments about your service.
Use a service like Trackur to monitor blog postings, comments, news stories or video content published on the web about you, your product or service.
Set up Google Alerts to email you whenever your name pops up on a website, newsgroup or blog post.
Check out boardtracker.com to see if your products or services are being discussed on any number of message boards.
There is even desktop software available to help with your vanity advantage. Copernic for example monitors websites for your search terms and lets you know when they change.
The point is there are a host of services, many of which are free, to monitor the conversations being had about you and your business online. A simple Google search for “Online Reputation Management” should get you moving in the right direction.
Don’t Forget the Offline World
Your vanity advantage transfers to the offline world as well. Know how you are perceived by your customers, and listen to what they are saying about you.
Ask your customers directly how you are doing. Get their feedback, and take it to heart without getting defensive.
Want a more anonymous way to get feedback?
Use online survey tools such as Survey Monkey, or Zoomerang to quickly poll your customers.
Start giving out feedback forms to your customers as part of your product or service offering, and give incentives for them to turn them in (it’s amazing what a $25 Starbucks card will get people to do).
The Tip of the Iceberg
This is just a small sampling of the ways you can embrace your vanity and turn it into an advantage. There are literally hundreds of ways to listen to your consumers, hopefully the above gets you started down that path. The key is to search out ways in which to search for yourself. Remember we’re embracing our vanity here – so the more ways to look for yourself the better!
The Last Step is the Hardest
Your customers are talking. They are talking about you and your business right now, and it’s up to you if you want to use their conversations, feedback, and criticisms to move your business ahead.
The hardest part of this exercise doesn’t come with the listening, it comes with the responding. Only listening is of no real help, and if you choose to ignore what is being said you will loose the majority of the vanity advantage.
Hopefully much of what you hear will be positive, but there are bound to be some negatives too. Hit them head on – make any wrongs right – that’s the point.
Look for areas of opportunity in the conversations, and work to fix them. See what your customers love about you and keep doing it. Identify areas of improvement in your business model, or areas where marketing messages need to be refined, or customer education is necessary. Remember that responding can be done with actions as well as words.
The key is to listen, and then respond. Embrace your vanity, and use it as your advantage.
Photo Credit: nathalielaure
Can’t visit Small Biz Bee on a regular basis? You can stay up to date by having the latest Small Biz Bee news delivered to you for free via RSS or Email.
For exclusive Small Biz Bee content and offers, sign up for our free newsletter:
Top 10 Tax Extension Questions Answered
The following guest post from FileLater’s CEO Ryan Thompson helps answer the most common questions about filing a tax extension. I know all readers of this blog are way ahead on their tax prep this year, but maybe you have a friend who can benefit from the info!
Does the IRS need a reason for my tax extension?
No! An IRS tax extension is “automatic” which means that your extension will automatically be approved as long as you file correctly and on time.
What are the deadlines associated with a tax extension?
A personal tax extension will grant you six more months, giving you a new tax deadline of October 15th. Most businesses that file for an extension will have a new tax deadline of September 15th. Tax extensions must be submitted by your original tax deadline, which is April 15th for individuals and most businesses (including LLCs, partnerships and sole proprietors), and March 15th for corporations.
Do my chances of audit go up if I file a tax extension?
The IRS never tells us what triggers audit; however, the fact that the IRS makes tax extensions possible, and that you are showing compliance by filing for an extension leads many CPAs and tax professionals to believe that your chance of audit may actually decrease if you file for a tax extension
How do I file an extension?
There are three ways to file for a tax extension. You can fill out and send in the IRS forms (IRS 4868 for individuals and IRS 7004 for businesses), have your CPA file an extension, or do it yourself online with an authorized IRS e-file provider like FileLater
What information is needed to file for a tax extension?
Luckily, the IRS doesn’t ask for any complicated tax information when you file for a tax extension. Some personal information is needed, such as name, address, and social security number, and you’ll also have to estimate if you’ll owe or get a tax return when you file your extended taxes. But, you won’t need any information from W2s, 1099s, 1098s, etc.
Does a tax extension give me more time to pay any taxes due?
A tax extension is an extension in time to file your tax extension, not an extension of time to pay. The IRS asks that you still pay any tax balance on time. However, filing a tax extension will eliminate the stiffest late penalty, which is called the late filing penalty, and is 5% of any balance due per month.
Why should I e-file my extension?
E-file is the only method to file a tax extension where you’ll get an IRS confirmation when your tax extension is approved.
Do I also need to file for a state tax extension?
Each state has their own rules for state tax extensions. However, many states will automatically grant you a six month tax extension as long as your IRS federal tax extension is approved. FileLater provides instructions and forms where needed for all 50 states: http://www.filelater.com/states.html
How many extensions are filed annually?
10 million personal extensions and 5 million business tax extensions are filed annually with the IRS, and is expected to grow by about 5% in 2009 with more complicated tax situations for many filers given the current economic environment.
What are the benefits of using FileLater?
FileLater is an authorized IRS e-file provider, which means that you’ll get an IRS confirmation when your extension is approved, and has over 98% of submitted tax extensions approved by the IRS! FileLater is also the only extension service on the web that can e-file business tax extensions, and is a BBB accredited business.
Ryan Thompson is co-founder and CEO of FileLater. After 3 years with Intuit’s TurboTax, FileLater was established to provide the 15 million businesses and individuals who file tax extensions annually with the easiest way to get a tax extension online. FileLater is an authorized IRS e-file provider, and the only place on the web to e-file business tax extensions online.
Can’t visit Small Biz Bee on a regular basis? You can stay up to date by having the latest Small Biz Bee news delivered to you for free via RSS or Email.
For exclusive Small Biz Bee content and offers, sign up for our free newsletter:
