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Top 7 Most Popular Stories For The Week That Was

Sometimes you just find yourself chomping (or champing) at the bit, ready to start the week at 100 miles per hour. For me, this is definitely one of those Mondays.

To help you get things firing on all cylinders, let’s take a look back at the posts you read, shared and commented on for the week that was on the Creative Combustion blog.

Popular stories included a behind-the-scenes look at how one small business was able to survive a huge spike in traffic from a Google Doodle, why small business owners should always get testy with their customers, and a glimpse at some really cool technology that could transform the world of ecommerce.

1. Putting Your Ideas And Your Customers To The Test. Frequently used by content marketers and web developers to optimize landing pages, A/B testing can also be incredibly effective for collecting feedback from your small business customers. If you’re looking for insights to help you make more strategic decisions, this post is for you.
2. Surviving A Google Doodle And Other Moments In the Spotlight. For most small businesses owners, being the feature of a Google Doodle, making a guest appearance on the Today Show, or being spotlighted on “Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things” list would feel like winning the entrepreneurial lottery. But making the most of a big moment in the spotlight requires A LOT of behind-the-scenes preparation. Learn how the folks at Moog Music were able to keep their website online during a HUGE spike in traffic. 
3. Twitter for Media Pros. How does Twitter fit into the media and advertising mix? Last week I had the chance to sit on a panel with Deanna Ferrari, Social Media Manager at Smith Brothers, and Terra McBride, Director of Social Media and Digital PR at Point Park University. We covered a lot of ground including how to recover from an accidental tweet and what you can do before you share your content to increase the likelihood that it will actually be seen. For a recap of our discussion, including my slide deck, be sure to give this one a read. 
4. Creating A Logo That Doesn’t Suck. As a small business owner, there are lots of places you look to cut costs but logos definitely aren’t one of them. Learn how one Pittsburgh, PA-based startup is using crowdsourcing to provide affordable design solutions.
5. 10 Benefits Of Having A Small Business Blog. To blog or not to blog? For many small business owners, that’s the question. If you’re on the fence about whether to add a blog to your content marketing mix, you’ll definitely want to check this one out.
6. 6 Tips For Creating Memorable Small Business Taglines. The right tagline captures the very essence of your business in as little as five to seven words. Unique and memorable, it is often the little nugget that will help you stand out to potential customers. What makes a great tagline? Read on.
7. 3D Imaging And The Future Of Ecommerce. Although ecommerce sites might have lots of fancy bells and whistles, most are still missing the two key ingredients that really matter most to customers—the ability to find an item that they know will look good on them and having the confidence that it will actually fit before they place their order. Learn how technology is about to change all of that.

What about you?

What are some of the hot stories you're going to be following this week?

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[Image: Flickr user mike krzeszak]