Fwd: Are You Using QR Codes Yet?

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From: Business Thrival <deniseandjynell@businessthrival.com>
Date: Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 5:05 PM
Subject: Are You Using QR Codes Yet?

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Issue # 114 - August 10, 2012 Dear Jorge, QR codes are the latest way you can generate more revenue for your business. The tiny black and white pixilated square boxes are growing in popularity and popping up everywhere. If you haven't heard about them yet, then you are missing out. In today's Main Essay, you will learn what a QR code is, how to create a QR code for free, and how to use QR codes to generate more revenue for your business. In today's Check It Out section, you will learn more about a great way to get cheap advertising for any kind of business. If you're like most businesses, you could use more customers.  And the easiest way to get more customers is by doing more advertising. In the Quick Tips section, you will learn how to make exercise fun, how to clear your mind by doing little things, and how getting away can lift your spirits.     We hope you enjoy this issue of the Business Thrival Newsletter. Cheers, Jynell Berkshire Associate Publisher Business Thrival, Inc.    Are You Using QR Codes Yet? By Jynell Berkshire Last Saturday morning while out running errands, I drove past an office building and something caught my eye. It was a giant QR code affixed inside a glass panel at the entrance of an office building. Quick Response codes (or better known as QR codes) are popping up everywhere. These tiny black and white pixilated square boxes are the latest way to advertise your business without spending a dime. All you need to read a QR code is a smartphone with a camera connected to it and a QR code reader application installed on your phone. So, what is a QR Code? QR codes encode and embed information much like a standard barcode used by retailers to track, stock, and price items at the point of sale. The difference though is the amount of information that they hold. For example, QR codes can contain key information about your business. Some examples include your web site URL, your business telephone number, directions to your business, and customer feedback forms, to name a few. QR codes are a great way to communicate with your customers. And what's great about QR codes is that they tap into the technology that is already on your phone. For example, if you embed your company phone number into the QR code and the person scans the code, most mobile phones will automatically detect it's a phone number and will ask if you want to dial the number. If the QR code has a web site embedded in it, then the mobile phone will open the web browser to that specific page. The technology is really amazing. If you haven't started using QR codes in your business, then pay careful attention to the rest of this article where I walk you step by step on how to create your own QR code and then how you can use QR codes to generate more revenue for your business. Step 1: Create A QR Code For Your Business No matter what type of QR code you want to create, the process is really easy. There are a number of free online generator tools that allow you to generate QR codes from URLs, messages, phone numbers, SMS, pre-written emails, and much more. You can even create a QR code for your Google homepage through iGoogle. The key though is to test your QR code to make sure that the information you have embedded in the QR code is correct so that others can read it. You do this by installing a QR code reader application on your smartphone, which is the next step. Just when I thought all the sources of cheap advertising had dried up, I ran across this great NEW traffic-getting strategy. Oh yeah, and it works even if you don't have your own web site. It's ideal for affiliate marketers, and absolutely crushes it for local businesses. If you don't believe me, just check out the second case study in this video. ...it's at about the 90 second mark. Step 2: Install A QR Code Reader Application On Your Smartphone It's easy and fun to scan and uncover the hidden messages in QR codes with a smartphone. The first thing you need to do is to install a QR code reader application on your smartphone. If you have an iPhone, go to Apple's App Store and download a QR code reader app. There are a number of free ones you can choose from, but the one I use is called "QR Scanner." QR code reader apps are also available for other smartphones, like Blackberries and Android phones, as well as for iPads. Once you have installed the QR code reader, you then need to scan the QR code. All you do is open up the app you just installed and use it to take a photo of the QR code. In most apps, there will be a "scan" button that you press that will take a photo of the QR code. Once you have taken the photo of the QR code, the app will decode the QR code and show you the information that is embedded in it. For fun…and to illustrate this technique, print out this article and follow the steps I just talked about to install a QR code reader application on your smartphone. Once the QR code app is installed, take your smartphone and snap a photo of the QR code image below. This QR code contains our embedded URL to our Business Thrival web site.  If you prefer, you can also just point your QR reader at your computer screen without printing the document.  And that works too! Then, watch what happens. The QR code redirects you to our Business Thrival web site. Isn't that amazing! Try this yourself and tell us if our QR code worked for you. Now that you have created a QR code and you have successfully installed a QR code app on your smartphone, let's look at how you can use QR codes in your business to generate more revenue. Step 3: Use QR Codes To Generate More Revenue A large part of growing your business requires connecting with your customers. You not only want to keep your customers informed about your products or services, but you also want to get them engaged and excited. QR codes can do both these things. With QR codes, you can share information with the world. I already gave several examples about different ways to use QR codes in the earlier sections. But in this section, I'd like to share a few more ideas on how to leverage QR codes to grow your business to generate more revenue. For example, you can put QR codes on print ads, promotional items, at the bottom of a receipt, on yard signs, and on your products. You can even offer coupons or discounts to your customers who use a certain QR code, while at the same time collecting their information in return. Take for example, hanging a QR code next to your cash register. When your customer takes a picture of the QR code, they immediately see on their smartphone the information you have embedded in the code. This is a quick and easy way to instantaneously connect and communicate with your customers. You can also use QR codes to communicate and connect with your customers online. For example, you can use QR codes to add customers to your text message opt-in list, to point customers to your Twitter account "Follow Page", or even to  "Like" your Facebook page. You can also use QR codes in banner ads, in online videos, and in any call to action that you want a customer to do. The possibilities are endless! Customers will be curious to uncover the hidden messages you have in your QR code. Just be sure though that the content they find is worth their time. If not, they may not have an interest to learn more about your business. Overall, using QR codes is a creative way to market your business. Now that you know how to create a QR code and how it can generate more revenue for your business, it's time to go create one for yourself today!  And please reply back and let me know your own ideas for other creative ways you could put them into use. 1. If you aren't using QR codes in your business, then get started by creating your first one by following the steps outlined in Step 1 above. 2. Once you have created a QR code, install a QR code reader application on your smartphone and test the QR code to make sure the information you have embedded in the QR code is correct and that it can be read. 3. Incorporate the QR code(s) in your marketing strategy and materials. 4. Make your customers aware of your QR code(s) and how to use them. 5. Watch your sales increase in your business from the additional free advertising and customer engagement you get based upon their curiosity. Let us know your thoughts on today's issue. Post your comments here.   Forward this email to a friend! Business Thrival, Inc. 10412 Allisonville Road Suite 201 Fishers, IN 46038 USA Toll Free: 888-579-9922 Fax: 877-579-9933 © Copyright 2012 Business Thrival, Inc. All Rights Reserved. NOTE:  If URLs do not appear as live links in your e-mail program, please cut and paste the full URL into the location or address field of your browser. Disclaimer:  Business Thrival, Inc. only recommends products that we've either personally checked out ourselves, or that come from people we know and trust. For doing so, we may receive a commission. We will never recommend any product that does not have a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee. Nothing in this email should be considered as providing legal, financial, accounting or estate planning advice. While some of the authors may be attorneys who have discussed various legal, business and other concepts herein, nothing herein can be construed to constitute specific legal advice or recommendations. No communication by our company or employees to you should be deemed as personalized legal, financial, or estate planning advice. The social media icons contained in this newsletter were obtained from IconDock.

Twitter    Facebook    Our Blog I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow. Enjoy! Click here to watch "My Wish"    Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Inspiring and connecting the uninspired and unabridged! You're outstanding ladies!!! Luis Body: Exercising can be so boring sometimes. I've talked before about the fact that easiest way to stay in shape is to find exercises that are fun. With today's world of technology, there are so many interactive exercise games you can play to make exercise fun again. For example, there are virtual golf games where you can golf inside, virtual bicycling where you can bicycle through Europe or other beautiful places right from your home, and exercises that you can do interactively, such as with the Nintendo "Wii Fit Plus". Mind: Do you have little jobs that need to be done around your house that are lingering in your mind? You know those jobs like fixing the toilet latch to finally reading all the magazines that are piling up on your nightstand. By simply delegating these tasks to someone else, hiring to have them done or doing then yourself clears your mind and reduces stress. Spirit: If you are a parent, it is time for an adult-only vacation. Send the kids to their grandparents' home and revel in some relaxation with your partner, even if it is only for a weekend. It's great for both of the adult and child. The child gets to bond with the grandparents and the adults get to spend some quality time together.

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