Small Business SEMMYs

Let’s skip the corny, canned jokes and the awkward moments at the podium and just open the envelope, shall we? Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the 2008 SEMMY Award in the Small Business category is … drum-roll, please …

Branding For Small Business And Bloggers
Steven Bradley, TheVanBlog | 8/28/07

Congratulations to our winner! Here’s a choice bit from the winning post:

Anytime, no matter how seemingly small, you do something in public, people will form opinions of you and make associations with your brand. Everything you do affects your brand. That’s why consistency is important. Consistency reinforces your brand. Conflicting messages tear it down.

As a blogger every post you write is a branding opportunity. Your blogging voice becomes a large component of your brand. Do you give good advice? Do you have something interesting to say? Do you point your readers to quality information?

Runners-Up

The top two runners-up in public voting were:

1. Small Businesses And Social Media
   Chris Brogan | 11/28/07
2. 9 Simple Ways for Small Businesses to Leverage Social Media
   Todd Emaus, Stone Interactive | 11/13/07

The winner and runners-up are welcome to grab the appropriate badge — we have a badge for both winners and runners-up.

How the Voting Ended

Here’s a look at how each finalist fared in the public voting:

Thanks to all who voted, and congrats again to the winner, runners-up, finalists, and all nominees. We look forward to reading your acceptance speech soon!

The judges have made their choices, and the finalists in the Small Business category for the 2008 SEMMY Awards are:

The Finalists

• When Ignorance Isn’t Bliss: What You Don’t Know About Your Web Site Can Hurt You
  Christine Churchill, Search Engine Land | 7/19/07
• Top Ten Small Business Takeaways from SES San Jose
  David Mihm, Mihmorandum | 8/27/07
• Branding For Small Business And Bloggers
  Steven Bradley, TheVanBlog | 8/28/07
• 9 Simple Ways for Small Businesses to Leverage Social Media
  Todd Emaus, Stone Interactive | 11/13/07
• Small Businesses And Social Media
  Chris Brogan | 11/28/07
• 23 Surefire Small-Business Marketing Tips for 2008
  Michael Dorausch, Chiropractic Blogs | 11/29/07

Congratulations to each finalist! Please grab a finalist badge and let your readers know that public voting on the finalists has begun.

Here’s How to Vote

Now it’s your turn to choose a winner! Please read each article above and decide which one you feel is the best. When you click below, you’ll be able to vote in this category only. To vote in other categories, please visit the pages listing those finalists. Voting is open now, and will close at end-of-day on January 30, 2008.

VOTE NOW IN THIS CATEGORY (link will open in a new window)

The following are the nominees in the Small Business category for the 2008 SEMMY Awards. Our judge(s) will narrow this group down to 5-6 finalists. Congratulations to all nominees! Please grab a nominee badge and let your readers know that public voting on the finalists is just around the corner.

• Search Engine Marketing Still Foreign To Many
  David Wallace, SearchRank | 1/10/07
• 9 Branding Tips for Small Businesses
  Nick Rice, Small Business Branding | 1/24/07
• The Lowdown on Web Designers and SEO
  Lee Odden, Online Marketing Blog | 1/25/07
• Google Does Impact Many Small Businesses
  Barry Schwartz, Search Engine Roundtable | 3/14/07
• 10 Lessons Learned from Starting a Small Business
  Steve Woodruff, Small Business Branding | 4/10/07
• Everything is Marketing
  Stoney deGeyter, Search Engine Guide | 4/26/07
• Free Web Design Tools From The Big Three: SEO Friendly Or Not?
  Christine Churchill, Search Engine Land | 5/3/07
• Branding on a Shoestring Budget
  Kevin Levi, Small Business Branding | 5/18/07
• How To Be Unremarkable
  Steve Woodruff, Small Business Branding | 5/19/07
• How to use video to promote your small business
  Becky McCray, Small Biz Survival | 6/19/07
• When Ignorance Isn’t Bliss: What You Don’t Know About Your Web Site Can Hurt You
  Christine Churchill, Search Engine Land | 7/19/07
• When Ignorance Isn’t Bliss, Part 2
  Christine Churchill, Search Engine Land | 7/26/07
• Top Ten Small Business Takeaways from SES San Jose
  David Mihm, Mihmorandum | 8/27/07
• Branding For Small Business And Bloggers
  Steven Bradley, TheVanBlog | 8/28/07
• Increase The Visibility of Your Small Business Web Site on a Shoestring Budget
  David Wallace, Search Engine Guide | 9/6/07
• Small Business Marketing 101: A Guide to Growing Your Small Business
  Mason Hipp, Small Fuel Marketing | 10/1/07
• Who Moved My Client Base?
  Laurel Delaney, Small Business Trends | 10/5/07
• The Top 5 Small Business Marketing Myths
  Mason Hipp, Small Fuel Marketing | 10/15/07
• Small Businesses Skip PageRank Roller Coaster Ride
  Miriam Ellis, SEO Igloo | 10/27/07
• 9 Simple Ways for Small Businesses to Leverage Social Media
  Todd Emaus, Stone Interactive | 11/13/07
• 5 Ways Small Business Can Benefit From Social Media/Networking Sites
  David Wallace, Search Engine Guide | 11/15/07
• Small Businesses And Social Media
  Chris Brogan | 11/28/07
• 23 Surefire Small-Business Marketing Tips for 2008
  Michael Dorausch, Chiropractic Blogs | 11/29/07
• Thinking of leaving eBay and getting a professional website? Look before you leap!
  Miriam Ellis, SEO Igloo | 12/11/07