It’s election day in my town today. In driving around and checking out the “Vote for (fill in the candidate’s name) signs, one thought occurred to me: why do none of these signs have the day of the election on them?

Sure, there are ads in the newspapers and those annoying pre-recorded phone calls that all mention the date. But most of us see the yard signs. So, would it be that difficult to say, “Vote for Bill Smith on 5/8”?

That said, it also amazes me how few people use an e-mail signature. Or if they use one, don’t use it on every e-mail. Talk about an incredibly easy way to advertise your business and draw traffic to your Web site. Yet it’s amazing how few do.

Does your company have a newsletter? It’s one of the typical questions yours truly asks when networking with other business owners. The typical response is “what can I expect for a return on my investment?” Rather than reel off the typical, “it depends” answer, here’s a better response.

When somebody scores a goal in hockey, they not only give an assist to the person who passed the puck, but the player who passed to the guy who passed to the goal scorer. Your newsletter can be the second assist guy.

How? First, let’s operate under the premise that what’s in the newsletter is newsworthy (e.g. a new product or service; an old product or service improved, etc.). By sending your newsletter to your existing client base, you’re doing more than informing them. In a sense, you’re making them sales agents. Pass number one.

With this information, the client/customer now has information about your company. Perhaps they need the new and improved product or service? Maybe they were about to call you for additional help and your newsletter just jogged their memory?

Even better, maybe they know somebody who might need this product or service? Now they have something to forward to gauge whether there is interest. That’s a far cry better than passing along a cold lead your customer may or may not have thought to give you. Your newsletter just reminded them. Pass number two.

Score!!!!!!

Similarly, a newsletter can be an effective tool for your sales force. Whether it’s an e-newsletter like this one or a traditional hard copy one, providing your sales force with leave-behinds is a critical part of staying front-of-brain with your customers. And that’s a major assist in increasing sales.

If you don’t have an e-newsletter, Constant Contact is an easy and affordable way to get started. For a free, 60-day trial membership, click here.

Who hasn’t, out of morbid curiosity, done an Internet search on your name or business name? If we could see a show of hands, it’s probably a good bet that everybody raised them. That’s what makes it slightly perplexing why people do not use Google alerts.

For those of you who may not know, Google, Yahoo and other Internet search sites offer a free tool where you submit a keyword or keyword phrase and you will be notified by e-mail when that word or phrase appears on the Internet.

For example, we could choose an alert for “HiRoad Communications”. Then we can determine whether we want to be notified when “Hiroad Communications” is mentioned anywhere on the Web or just on News sites. You can even determine how often you want to receive the e-mail–as it happens, once a day or once a week. Pretty cool.

As a business that offers PR services, HiRoad Communications uses Google alerts to see if the releases we put out for clients are picked up by news sites as well as traditional sites. While not as effective as a clipping service, the price is right-free. Yes, you may miss an occasional clip, but you get the big ones and that’s what’s really important.

PR aside, it’s just a good idea to create one for your name and business. On the business side, it’s nice to know what people are saying about you or your company. On a personal side, it offers some nice benefits, too. For example, I set one up for my children’s names. Now, if they should happen to make honor roll or if there’s a story on one of their sports teams, I get a notification.

So, if you’ve ever been in one of those curious moods and decide to Google your name, take it one step further and set up a Google alert. Just click here and you can get started today.