Powerful Techniques That You Can Use To Market Your Business On A Shoestring

For many small businesses, the biggest problem isn't their product - it is getting the word out. Marketing is expensive. The moment you start paying for it, you're competing against established businesses. And many of them have a lot more money to spend than you. 

The good news, though, is that there are powerful techniques that you can use to market your company on a budget. You don't have to spend big to get the money out. Here are some ideas. 

Use Guerilla Marketing

When a country is outnumbered and outgunned by an invading force, it typically doesn't mount an official defense. Instead, it goes into the Guerilla mode, taking potshots at the invaders and causing maximum disruption before retreating rapidly. 

Startups, therefore, need to adopt a similar mindset. You might not be able to go head-to-head with the big boys right now, but there are still plenty of things that you can do to get the word out about your business behind the scenes. 

There are plenty of ways to do this, from organizing a flash mob to paying people to go undercover and promote what you sell. 

Create A Pop-Up Stand

Creating a pop-up stand is one of the best ways to attract attention to your businesses. As this ultimate guide for custom pop up tents points out, customers love branded gazebos and covered spaces. It immediately attracts attention and makes your company stand out in a crowd. Plus, it provides some shelter from the sun and rain, so people are free to peruse your wares in peace. 

The Social Side Of Social Media

Paying for advertising on social media is expensive. Still, none of these platforms prohibit you from reaching out to customers organically. Many SMEs, therefore, now deliberately take steps to communicate with individual prospects personally. Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Reddit are great places to pick up new buyers and sell more. 

Organize A Contest

The number of businesses built on the back of contests is quite extraordinary. Suffice to say; there's virtually no better way to attract attention.

The main reason for this has to do with who competitions attract. Typically, the prize is a free product of some description. So contests bring in all of the people who are interested in buying the type of thing that you have to sell. Plus, the moment that they enter the competition, you grab all their personal details, like their name and email address. Then you immediately have a tool that you can use to market to them further. 

Grab A Partner And Piggyback
Some businesses are so valuable to their partners that they will often include them in their advertising for free. You see this type of thing in the industry all the time. One business will promote its services by pointing out that it hosts another. For instance, a department store might highlight the fact that it has a Starbucks. If you can find opportunities like these, they can prove highly lucrative. Search for them high and low.

What First Impressions Are You Giving To Customers?

We’re all told not to judge a book by its cover—and yet we all do. If your business isn’t giving off good first impressions to customers, you could be finding it much harder to win over new business. Here are just four areas where first impressions could be very important.

Your physical appearance

If you regularly meet customers in person, it could be important to consider your physical appearance.

Start by considering the way you dress. Whether your customers expect formal attire or casual clothing, it’s important that your clothing is clean, uncreased and a good fit. A tidy dress sense suggests a sense of organization. Good hygiene and a smart hairstyle will also suggest this.

The way you compose yourself also matters. A smile, a confident posture, and a handshake are all things that will warm customers towards you by making you appear friendly and professional.

There are other unusual ways to use physical appearance to create the desired impression. Color psychology for instance—dressing in a certain color—could have an influence on the way customers feel.

Your premises

When customers visit your premises for the first time, it’s also important that the building creates a good impression.

Start by considering the outside of your premises. If you own a store, it could be vital that you have eye-catching signage and an engaging window display. When it comes to offices and clinics, think more about the small details. A commercial lawn service could be worth outsourcing to ensure any grass outside is tidy. Clean windows could be essential.

When it comes to the inside of your premises focus on making the area around the entrance feel inviting. For instance, a cozy office lobby consisting of comfortable furniture and warm lighting could help to make customers feel more welcome. Cleanliness and a lack of clutter are very important.

Your company vehicle

If you turn up to meet customers in a company car or van, you may also want to consider the appearance of this vehicle.

First, you need to be sure that the vehicle is appropriate. A car or van that is visibly in poor condition could suggest that you can’t afford a good vehicle and that your company isn’t very successful. However, turning up in a luxury car could suggest that you overcharge. Something mid-range is generally a good option.

Make sure that your vehicle is also kept clean. Just like your physical appearance and premises, cleanliness shows that you care about your business and the smaller details.

Your online presence

Many consumers may stumble across you online. In these cases, it’s important that you have a strong online presence.

Your website should firstly look professional and should contain all the information your customers need. Make sure that it does not load slowly and that it’s mobile-friendly – these are two big things that can put website visitors off.

A high search engine ranking could meanwhile help you to get found and suggest that you’re a successful business. Consider investing in SEO or try paying for PPC ads. You should also be wary of search engine review features such as Google reviews – having lots of positive reviews will encourage consumers to trust your company. 

5 Fantastic Hacks to Reach Your Ideal Client Online

Establishing a reputable, attractive, and consistent presence online is something you have always strived to do for your business. You know that this sort of activity will pay in dividends for your success. Your business image is everything when it comes to building your brand, so you need to make sure you’re appealing to your ideal client. The online world is undoubtedly the best place to reach your target demographic and it’s relatively easy to do too. Consider some of the following five fantastic hacks and you will soon be able to reach your ideal clients seamlessly online.

1.SEO

One of the most effective ways to reach your ideal client on the internet is by honing in on your SEO strategies. If you have no idea where to begin you should definitely look into reputable SEO Marketing Companies. They will be able to help you gain clarity with your keywords for whatever online platform you are focusing on. When you master the art of search engine optimization, you will have a higher chance of hitting the top spots in Google when your ideal client searches for a specific phrase. This is the perfect way to reach out to your target demographic online.

2. Social Media Engagement

Posting on social is an excellent way to reach out to your ideal client, but it is a two-way street. You can’t expect them to like and comment on all of your posts and then never give anything back. You need to actively engage with your ideal client in order to convert them into a paying customer.

3. Vibrant Videos

Videos are a unique and vibrant way to grab the attention of your target audience right away. Whether you want to use YouTube as your main platform or you prefer IGTV, there are so many ways you can present your informative and value packed videos.

4. Clear and Concise Copywriting

You can use clever, clear, and concise language to appeal to your ideal client every single time you post online. Step into their shoes and think about what they really want to hear. This will help you to sell your products seamlessly without coming across as too pushy. If you struggle with writing you could always outsource your copywriting to a freelancer.

5. Amazing Ads

If you really want to reach your ideal client online, you might need to put some money in advertising. Facebook adverts often turn out to be an excellent investment for many businesses, especially if they are very targeted. Do some research and see if they might work for your business; these types of adverts often take some trial and error.

Give some of these ideas a try and see how they work for your business. You might find that some work much better for your particular industry than others. Be sure to track your metrics whenever you try something new. This will give you a clear indication of whether it’s going to work for your business in the long run.

Getting The Word Out About Your Business

These days, we hear so much about social media marketing. There are countless online articles about growing your marketing reach by using Facebook targeting. There are huge developments occurring in the artificial intelligence algorithms that marketing companies are using to directly target very specific groups of people. While online marketing is of huge benefit to a business, it can be very easy for a small business to end up focusing so much of their attention and spending a vast amount of their budget on online marketing, that they end up missing out on traditional marketing techniques. 

While we spend a lot of our lives in the virtual world, there is still a real-life realm that we all inhabit. We all go places, use products, and services, and we all interact with other human beings from time-to-time. Traditional marketing is still as relevant as it ever was. It is important that businesses devote as much of their attention and budget to other forms of marketing, instead of putting it all into social media and search engine optimization. 

Link Your Brand To A Useful Product

There are many different branded products that you could give your customers free-of-charge as a way of thanking them for their sale. Think about creative items that you could include with your products or services that are relevant to what the customer has just paid for. 

These branded items would be very cheap to buy-in, and you could factor the cost into the actual service or the products that your customer is getting. 

A great example of this would be if you were running a car dealership, a garage, or any other business relating to vehicles, you could give free custom car air fresheners. Simply get some printed up, and then, whenever your customers see it in their car, they will be reminded of your business.

Write It Large On The Side Of A Bus

There are more and more cars on our roads each year. We all need to get somewhere, and the car is often the best way of getting there. In fact, people are taking jobs further from home and traveling more each day. 

On these longer journeys, they will often pass lots of busses, and bigger vehicles that have marketing space on the sides. Often, you might subconsciously catch a glimpse of an advert that you did not know you had seen. This handy marketing technique gets your message to a very large pool of potential customers. 

Don’t Overlook The Power Of Printed Media

Many people claim that printed media is dead. They talk about how we all just read our news articles online. And, while it may be true that sales may have dropped of traditional newspapers, they are still widely read among certain demographics. 

Newspapers and magazines remain a great place to place adverts for your business. They can reach a very wide audience, or, you can use local papers to focus your attention on potential customers who may be closer to home. 

Don’t Forget To Talk To People

There are many forms of marketing that involve you communicating directly with your potential customers. This means talking to them as they pass you in the street, knocking on their doors, or phoning them up. 

Although many people criticize this type of marketing as being invasive, it can still be very effective. By using the right language and approach it is possible to build up a connection and convert leads into sales. 

This type of marketing may seem a little basic in comparison to the more focused social media approaches, or even in comparison to email marketing, but it does allow you the opportunity to build a connection with would-be customers in order to bring them into your brand family. 

Billboards

Billboards are again a marketing tool that is very much still very powerful. Placing adverts onto billboards will create a very strong visual impression on any passing motorist. 

As our roads get ever busier each year, more road users will be exposed to this type of marketing. You could even use digital billboards that may allow you to implement videos in your marketing message. 

Conclusion

It is very important that as a small business owner, you remember that there are lots of ways that you can reach your customers. By investing in a wider variety of marketing techniques, you will be able to reach a wider range of people and build effective brand relationships with them.

Get Crafty With Influencers and Social Marketing

Taking advantage of all that social media marketing has to offer is an efficient, easy, and fast way to grow your arts and crafts business. Online marketing can help you connect with new and unexpected audiences, create a coherent brand, and sell more of your work.

Here are the best ways to get crafty with influencers and social marketing.

Optimize for SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is like the holy grail of online marketing. Optimizing your social media and website for SEO will make it easier to get organic, or free, views and clicks because your account or site will be more likely to show up at the top of search engine results. There is plenty of room for growth via these kinds of unpaid search results. On any given day, there are more than 2.2 million searches conducted on Google.

To improve your social media account or website's SEO, make sure to write high-quality content, include crucial keywords that are related to your work, and post relatively frequently to produce fresh and new content.

Partner With Influencers

Social media influencers are people who have social media followings that pay close attention to their posts and are influenced by their perspective. Partnering with influencers is a great way to reach new audiences and sell your arts and crafts work.

Consider working with a social media influencer talent management firm to find the best influencers to partner with and to learn about the most effective models for collaboration with influencers.

Place Paid Ads on Search Engines and Social Media

Depending on your budget, you can place ads on search engines or social media sites to get more followers and drive engagement on your site. Even an inexpensive ad placement can help get your ad shown on the first page of search engine results or help social media users to find your accounts and become followers.

Maintain Your Social Media Accounts

This one sounds obvious, but if you are trying to drive engagement with your social media accounts, it is critical to keep your accounts updated and fresh. Develop a cohesive brand look and feel for your social media by consistently using similar color palettes and tones, developing a logo, and using a similar tone throughout your written content. Make sure to post regular updates on all of your social media accounts — you can use timed posts to do so.

Have an Interactive Presence

Once you have gained more followers, keep them by maintaining an interactive presence on your social media accounts. Use your blog or social media to post questions for your followers that encourage them to post in the comments and then respond to as many comments as you can. You can also run promotions asking followers to comment or share your account in exchange for a chance to win a prize or a free sample of your work.

Social media marketing provides a wide variety of opportunities for marketing your arts and crafts business, so take advantage of these ideas today.

Why Your Marketing Isn’t As Successful As It Could Be

Marketing seems to grow in importance with every passing year, and it’s not hard to see why. Since it has never been easier to get a business up and running, there is simply more competition than ever before -- and that means that companies have to work harder than ever before if they’re going to stand out from the crowd.

You’ll already know all this, and will have your own marketing strategies in place. But if you do not see the kind of results that you’d like to see, then you’ll need to do something about it. The good news is that you can make changes to your strategy whenever you want, and once you have, you’ll begin to see better results pretty quickly. But how do you do this? We take a look at a few tried and tested methods below. 

Minimal Time and Effort

As much as you might like to think it was not the case, the brutal fact about marketing is that it’s something that requires a lot of time and attention. Or at least, it’s not something that you can just phone in. If you’ve thus far been hoping that a social media post here and there will yield results, it’s time to work a little harder. Sit down and develop a robust strategy that’ll up the sophistication of your marketing.

You Need More Knowledge

Of course, there’s little value in putting in more time and effort into your marketing if you are not sure what you’re doing in the first place. In this case, it’s worthwhile topping up your knowledge before you move forward. There are programs such as Legendary Marketer that’ll give you the training and resources you need to improve your marketing campaigns. Remember: marketing is a challenging, dynamic area of your business, and the more knowledge you have, the better you can do things.

Outdated Trends

It could be that you actually have an excellent marketing campaign. It’s just what it’s only excellent by 2015 standards, not the standards of 2020. Marketing tactics are always evolving, and, as such, it’s important that you’re keeping up with the latest trends. It could be that the core of your message is fine, but that you’re presenting it using outdated models. Make the change to more modern marketing tools, and you’ll notice an improvement.

There’s No Measurement

Finally, perhaps the most common reasons for underwhelming marketing campaigns is that business owners fail to track what works in their campaigns, and what doesn’t. There’s a whole host of data available that can help to push you in the right direction, but you have to use it for it to be any good. Your data will, first, tell you what your customers want to see and what they like. Second, it’ll let you know where your marketing is reaching peak engagement, and which aspects don’t gain any traction at all. 

Incorporate these tips, and you’ll find that your marketing campaigns have much more success in the coming year and beyond. 

Innovative Ways To Get Your Business Noticed

Image Source - Pexels

With so much competition in every industry, getting your business noticed may seem like an impossible task. Gaining enough attention to influence potential customers can appear to be a very expensive and time-consuming task, that often fails or proves unfruitful for many different reasons.

However, fortunately, this does not have to be the case, as there are several projects which you can complete in order to gain sufficient awareness for your brand to succeed. It needn’t be a strenuous or stress-inducing venture, and you may see real results in just a few weeks. So, if you want to know more about how you can get your business noticed, then read on to uncover some of the most innovative ways to improve your reach and increase your customer base today.

Take Advantage Of Social Media

Failing to take advantage of social media and its marketing opportunities can cause you to fall behind many of your competitors, as it’s a key feature to succeed in today's modern world. Using social media platforms is especially effective if your target market is centered on young adults, as they average more than two hours using these applications daily. There are many different organizations online, which you can join and create a page or profile, and you can immediately begin reaching out to potential customers in several ways.

You can gain almost instant feedback from each of your posts or campaigns, as there are often options for users to ‘like’ the content and even leave a comment, in which they can express their thoughts and opinions. Advertising on social media sites is guaranteed to help you reach a much wider audience, and you can really benefit from taking the opportunity to develop your brand reputation online. 

The Wonders Of Event Sponsorship

An innovative way to get your business noticed is by sponsoring different events, such as sports games and concerts. There are several different opportunities to advertise your brand at such places, starting with the most obvious features such as crowd barriers that can showcase your logo and brand name, or getting a special shout out for providing some funding for the event. These are fun ways of reaching more potential customers, and once you invest in quality products, such as those from Eventdisplay, they can last a lifetime and be used over and over again. Get searching to identify some possible events in your local area that you might be able to sponsor, or even start planning your own event to get maximum coverage throughout. 

Take Your Brand To The Streets 

Word of mouth is as effective as ever, so it may be an idea to head out onto the streets to advertise your business in a much more hands-on and personal way. Get together a team of people with impeccable social skills, and ensure that they truly understand the ethos behind your business.

Managing to get a passerby to stop and chat is difficult, so you’ll need to ensure you do some digging to find the best employees for the job so that it is actually worthwhile. Getting the chance to speak with potential customers face-to-face can open up the opportunity to say everything that you cannot squeeze into an advert. This is a particularly good option for those of you whose commerce is done exclusively online, as your quality of customer service will not really exist as such, and this is a great chance for you to put a friendly face to your brand. 

Follow A Trend 

A new and creative option that could potentially open your business up to a much wider market is to get involved with a popular trend or craze. Individuals can earn short-term fame from creating videos or doing challenges that are the focus of that specific week, and you as a business have much more scope to put more effort in and gain an eye-catching result.

If your business has social media pages, ensure that you have a strong presence and post regularly, so that you can begin to round up followers that can spread your next move across the site. Then, whenever a new trend takes over, get involved and make your business become a part of it in a hilarious or inspiring way - post the outcome on your page and spread this through specialized insight tools so that you can appear in the feeds of interested users.

It only takes one funny video to break the internet and become a massive hit nowadays, and the attention that something such as this will get your business is absolutely huge. Of course, it is a risk, as you may put in the effort time and time again without yielding any noticeable results, but the more you attempt to understand the process, the better your chances of success will be. 

Make Connections

Making connections in business is always a positive thing, and is an important factor to consider when trying to get your brand noticed. Pairing up with another established company could give you the boost that you need to get out there and start reaching the wider market. If you’re in the early stages of your business, then this option will be perfect for you, as it can be very tough to get started alone, whilst having the help of a more experienced organization can help to kickstart your venture. It may seem strange to pair up with your competitors, but as the saying goes, ‘keep your friends close, and your enemies closer’!

Hopefully, these innovative marketing concepts can help you to get your business noticed, and allow you to get set in the right direction towards making a profit that you can truly be proud of.

7 Things To Consider When Starting An Email List

If you’re thinking of starting an email list for your business but you don’t know where to begin or how to grow it, then don’t worry. You have definitely come to the right place. With many important things to consider before you get started, it’s important you’re doing everything you can to grow your list in an organic and safe way. Whilst it may seem impossible at first, there are lots of ways to build the email list you need to grow your business. With that in mind, here are 7 things to consider when starting your email list: 

- Where Will You Build Your List?

One of the first things you need to consider when it comes to building an email list is how where you’re going to be building it. With different pieces of software available to use, you need to be sure you’re picking the best possible choice for your business. Although it may come down to cost, it is worth looking at the various different features each piece of software offers. For a guide to choosing an email list building software, you can visit this site here. 

- How Will You Attract Email Sign-Ups?

Once you know where you’re going to build your list, you need to consider how you’re going to attract sign-ups. Although there are millions of ways you can build your list, streamlining your processes will make sure your efforts are much more successful.

Whether you’re throwing competitions, sharing unique offers or offering valuable freebies, you need to be sure people have a reason to sign up to your list. For tips and tricks when it comes to growing your email list, you can visit this site here. 

- What Will You Use Your Email List For?

Now that you have started building your list, you can think about what it is going to be used for. Whether you’re sending a monthly newsletter or sharing weekly deals on your products, putting together a strategy could be incredibly beneficial for your business. 

- Will You Have An Email Schedule?

If you know you’re going to send out regular emails, you might want to consider putting together an email schedule. Although it may be hard to stick to at first, having a schedule will help give your subscribers a sense of contingency and professionalism. Whilst you may miss one every now and again, a schedule is the best way to ensure you stick to sending emails out. 

Having an audience and not using it is one of the most common mistakes people make when it comes to an email list, so having a schedule will definitely help prevent this. 

- How Will You Create Content For Your Email Strategy?

Once you have put together a schedule and goals for your email list, you need to think about how you’re going to be creating content for your emails. Whether you hire an experienced content writer or you write from the heart, you need to be sure your emails encourage sales, engagement, and interaction. If your email list has been created to support a community, you might also want to consider sharing content from your community members. 

- How Will You Ensure Safety?

One of the most important things to consider when it comes to starting your email list is how you’re going to ensure both safety and compliance. With various rules and legislation surrounding data protection, you need to be sure you are doing all you can to abide by the rules. From giving subscribers the chance to unsubscribe to offering subscribers a choice when it comes to the information they receive, the more research you do the better. If you want to learn about online privacy, you can visit this site here. 

- How Will You Measure Results?

Finally, you need to think about how you’re going to measure results. Although there are different ways to collect data surrounding your open rates and click-throughs, you need to decide whether or not these are the metrics you want to measure. For some, brand recognition and engagement might be even more important. 

If you’re struggling when it comes to measuring your results, you might want to consider speaking to someone who has experience in this area. Not only will they be able to offer you advice but they will also be able to point you in the right direction when it comes to finding the results you’re looking for. 

Are you starting an email list for your brand? What do you need to consider beforehand? Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below. 

Optimizing Your Social Media with Promo Models

By: Tori Lutz

Learning the ins and outs of social media marketing is an unavoidable part of running a modern brand. With nearly half of the global population using social networks every month, the social media user base has become one of the most lucrative and researchable demographics the business world has ever seen.

Given the over-saturation of brands on social platforms, vying for user attention at every turn, how is a digitally adept business supposed to stand out and be heard? In this article, we’ll talk about an often-overlooked facet of social marketing: promotional models.

Promo Models: What and Why

 You may know promotional talent primarily from smiling and waving at the crowd from floats, or trade show models greeting attendees and getting them to view a particular booth. However, promo models can be the perfect fit for social media, due to several reasons.

First, social media is, as the name implies, primarily social. Its function is to connect people to other people. While there are many design and photography enthusiasts on Instagram, a majority of the site’s usage is seeing what other people in your network are doing, wearing, or thinking. This is why Instagram posts get 30% greater engagement when they include faces. 

Second, humans rely most heavily on sight, which makes the visual appeal of promo models in a visual medium such as Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest well suited to the task. So how do you best use promotional talent in your social media strategy? 

Single Posts and Ad Campaigns

The most common and direct way to integrate promo models on social media is via a photo or video shoot that can be used for posts and ad campaigns.

 Since your brand’s social media presence falls into two main categories: advertisements and your page itself, it makes sense to include promo models in both. The next time you consider posting about a product or service or creating an advertisement, make sure it contains a relatable human element in the form of promotional talent.

The most impactful way to go about this is fortunately also the most cost-effective method. Hire your promo models for a day or two of shoots, and acquire a bunch of content that you can tailor to various campaigns, audiences, and messages. 

Then, spread out that media over the course of a long ad campaign or regular, weekly posts on your page. This both saves you money by only needing to hire technicians, camera crew, venues, and promo talent for one or two days, but also works better as a marketing strategy. Users recognize patterns and enjoy consistency, so a longer campaign featuring the same promo models will draw more attention than sporadic, unrelated banner ads.

 Influencers

 Influencers are a category of promo models that already have a large social media fanbase. These social media giants will cost you much more to hire than a traditional promo model would, but the payoff can also be much more rewarding.

Influencer marketing relies on the celebrity endorsement principle in which a recommendation or endorsement by a respected or admired individual causes people to trust and use that brand more frequently.

Sure, influencers may not be as globally famous as real celebrities, but they often enjoy closer relationships with their followers than famous athletes or actors would. This means that, if you can afford it, a post by an influencer supporting your product can lead to a massive increase in both exposure and sales. 

Brand Ambassadors

Brand ambassadors are the little sibling to influencers. Brand ambassador marketing is somewhat more of a two-way street; both the brand ambassador and the company itself benefit more, making this a much more affordable option for most companies.

Ambassador programs typically involve the supplying of products or services to the ambassador in exchange for them handing out samples, being active on social media about the company, and being vocal to their own personal networks. This is an excellent way to reach people in the non-digital world, who may otherwise never find your brand.

Promo models make great brand ambassadors as well, given their innate charm and dynamism. Most agencies that hire out traditional promo models are also good for brand ambassador hiring, as they tend to have a large database of qualified individuals and their requisite social media stats.

In Summary 

While social media savviness is an inescapable aspect of the modern marketing landscape, it doesn’t have to be boring or impersonal. In fact, adding some excitement and a charismatic human element to your social media presence is a surefire way to get more engagement. 

Promo models can fit into your brand’s social media in a multitude of ways. A single hefty photoshoot with promotional talent can go a long way, providing engaging and more relatable content for a long-term ad campaign or simply for page posts. Influencers can make a huge impact in increasing brand following, and brand ambassadorships are a cost-effective way to reach more people both on and off social media. 

We hope this gave you something new and useful to apply to your social media strategy. For more insightful and unique ways to optimize your marketing, check out the other articles on our blog.

Extra Energy To The Proceedings: Making Over Your Marketing

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When you are knee-deep in promoting your business, there comes a moment when you start to realize just how much of a massive task it is, not just for the sake of your product, but for your business as an entire entity. Marketing is one of those things that can consume any company if they don't use the right methods. And for many businesses out there, it proves to be one of the more difficult aspects to get right while also figuring out how to make a marketing strategy more innovative while improving what you've already got. How can you do this?

Tweak Your Content 

Your content is one of the crucial components, not just because it's what helps build the bridge between you and the customer, but it's also the tricks that you can implement to ensure that it catches a wider audience. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is one of those elements that, if you haven't looked at it already, you should find ways to show you are managing your SEO appropriately. Because it is such an evolving aspect of marketing, it's always worth having someone on the team dedicated to continuing going over the content and making it relevant, but also compliant with SEO so you climb up the search engine rankings. But that's not to say you should cover your content in spammy links and other aspects that debase the contact.

Learn To Automate 

Marketing isn't just about the components you have a direct hand in creating, but it’s also those that you automate. After all, you are a busy business owner and this means you've got to find the right methods to ensure the business continually operates without you having a direct hand in it. Automating emails and social media posts can be done with various tools, so you can schedule your posts ahead of time, and your content trickles out regularly, keeping everybody in your customer base in the loop, while also providing that perception that the business is operating 24/7.

Communicating With Customers Directly

We can tend to forget about the more realistic components of promotion. Regardless of how the business operates, it's important to speak to customers in a direct, human manner. While promoting your business is fantastic if you have all the online components in place, you have to find ways to continually engage the customer beyond the computer screen. It's always worth participating in something like a local community event. As well as this, think about trade shows and any event around the can show off your product in a good light. It's a very simple way to connect with a customer, while also finding ways to promote your ethics and brand in a far more substantial manner.

Marketing is widely open to interpretation. And if you feel that your business is certainly lacking in many ways, making it over and reinvigorating your promotion, but also adding a little bit of extra energy to the proceedings can help your business go further, but also make you realize where you are falling down.

Sneaky Ways to Build Brand Awareness on a Budget

Do you think your brand isn’t as well-known as it could be? Maybe you just know that you need to make some changes, but you aren’t sure how to go about it. Either way, you can find out whatever you need to know, right here.

Referral Programs

Users will usually be more than happy to spread the word of your product or even your service if they are getting additional perks. Consider starting a loyalty program or even think about chatting with your customers about what they’d like to see your company offer. This will help you to get more sales and it will also help you to build your overall brand loyalty.

Impressive Guest Content

Another fantastic way for you to get your brand known would be for you to deliver very valuable and great-looking content. Guest posting is a powerful way for you to get your name known in the industry and it will also help you to stand out more too. If you aren’t sure how to create guest content or anything else of the sort then you might want to look into a digital publishing platform as this could help you to get the customization you need.

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Infographics

Infographics are very bright and colorful. They also remain to be the best way for you to display interesting marketing material or even statistics too. Infographics are known for being content powerhouses and they’re great if you want to get a much bigger market reach too.

Local Partnerships

Another great brand strategy that you can be sure to take advantage of is local partnerships. This is very important if you have a brick and mortar store, as it gives you the publicity you need to really take things to that next level. You can easily partner with local businesses or you can sponsor local sports teams too. This will give your brand a strong connection with the local community and it can also help you to build a lot of awareness too.

Car Wraps

Car-wraps are a tried-and-true strategy. They are essentially customized designs that cover your entire car and they attract a huge amount of attention. This is a fantastic way for you to make sure that everyone becomes familiar with your brand and it is also a very affordable way for you to market your company. This strategy is best if you have a car that you use for work-related purposes, rather than for personal use.

Freebies

Who doesn’t love a freebie? Put your brand on frisbees, pens, or anything else of the sort. When you do this, you can then hand them out to your customers as gifts. The more useful your items are, the better as this will stop them from being put to the back of the drawer or even put in the bin. You also need to remember that the more your items are used, the more likely they are to draw publicity to your brand too so keep that in mind.

It's 2019: Go Digital Or Go Home

Digital innovation is a natural growth process. You can count on the fingers of one hand the companies that have not yet embraced digital technologies in your neighborhood. However, while businesses rely on digital solutions as part of their day-to-day activities, digitalization continues to be perceived as a tool rather than a strategic goal. 

There is no denying that digital technology can not only save time and money in the long term, but it also facilitates interactions at different steps of business processes. However, failure to consider digitalization as a whole makes it difficult for companies to quantify the benefits of innovative solutions and interactive tools.

For small and medium-sized businesses, the need to digitalize processes can cast a threatening shadow over the financial growth. Indeed, enhancing your digital solutions comes at a high cost, which can be a handicap when you’re working with a limited budget. However, when digitalization becomes part of your business strategy, you can not only monitor the direct impact of your investment but also build a company that works better and harder for its customers and employees. Consequently, large-scaled digital investments are more likely to drive a rapid and significant positive ROI, as opposed to segmented and isolated digital enhancements. 

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FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS

Ultimately, today’s customers rely on the digital world to establish the first touchpoint with their trusted companies. They are not only digitally-savvy, but they are also willing to take shortcuts to get in touch with a business. With the digital universe at their fingertips, users operate cross-channels and devices in an effort to speed up their interactions. Ideally, they don’t want to waste time along the process and have no patience for companies that can’t keep up with their use of digital technology. 

Where do I click to buy? 

Cashless payments are nothing new. The rise of ecommerce businesses encourages more and more online payments. However, brick and mortar shops still have to make cashless transactions a priority. Indeed, small boutiques, craft fairs, and even food markets struggle to move away from a cash-only policy. Card payments are an integral part of your customers’ daily lives.

Additionally, more and more customers choose to manage all their transactions through their phones, relying on mobile payments such as Apple Pay or even Paypal when shops provide the option. In a day and age where most people are more likely to carry a smartphone than a wallet, it is foolish not to adapt to your customers’ preferences. 

Don’t slow down customer service

Your customers tend to turn to social media when they want to engage in a direct conversation with a brand. From responding to your posts to asking for help with a transaction issue, social media is the new customer service platform. However, if you’re going to make the most of your presence on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you want to figure out how to extract meaningful data to guide your online activities.

Vanity metrics, for instance, are a marketing obsession that fails to drive any valuable strategy. Indeed, you can use social media insights to identify customers’ issues and engagement. Online reactions and mentions can help you to identify problematic products or target groups, for instance, and to refocus your efforts. 

Keep the interaction intuitive

Videos are one of the most engaging media formats. But, if you are going to make the most of a vlog, you need to enhance the interactive features. Videos allow your brand to build a direct connection with the audience. Maintaining the relationship is crucial to immerse potential customers into a branded environment of your creation. Therefore, clickable links in the video and branching patterns can preserve the interaction. If at any point, a user has to leave the video to find out more about your products or your brand, the positive effect is likely to disappear. 

FOR YOUR TEAM

Your team works in a high-paced environment. It makes no doubt that the implementation of digital solutions in the workplace is designed to support the hectic challenges of a typical workday. Therefore, the digitalization process needs to maximize productivity by offering your employees a reliable and supportive network of technologies. The purpose is to allow everybody to move smoothly through their day-to-day tasks by eliminating friction, inaccuracy, and delays. 

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Free your database from slow processes

Your database is at the core of your business processes. Enabling not only rapid but constant access is a priority to manage your operations, in terms of online transaction processing, data warehousing, database workloads. However, when the development technology you rely on is over 30 years old, as it is the case for Oracle Forms, it’s time to consider replacement options.

If you are still debating how to proceed between safe Oracle Forms migration and total modernization, for instance, you might need to consider the impact on your team. Indeed, an automated migration platform could modernize your solution and integrate with most modern tech your company needs. On the other hand, moving away from forms means the costly conversion of applications and screens. 

Collaborate in real time

Your team needs to work collaboratively on a variety of projects. However, the most common collaboration tool used in companies remains the email message, which is costing valuable time to your employees. Instead, you need to consider tools that let you set deadlines, manage tasks, and maintain cross-team communication in one place. Cooperative interfaces, such as Slack or Asana, favorize a quick and smooth organization while embracing real-time comments. 

Click to invoice in real-time

Your customers want to click to pay. Similarly, your accounting team doesn’t want to waste precious time designing bills and keeping the team informed. Online invoicing is not a novelty, yet small businesses have been slow to adopt digital financial features. Ultimately, the processes of billing, managing your CRM data, following-up unpaid invoices, and checking your stocks don’t need to be separated. Keeping all financial information in one place gives back control to your team. 

The process of digitalization is wrongly criticized as a costly investment. However, for SMEs, digitalizing business operations and building actionable strategies for your team and customers can not only save you time and money in the long term but also gives you a competitive edge in a busy market. At a time when you can’t afford to miss an opportunity, digital technology can free up your teams to focus on what they do best. 

How To Promote Your Blog Correctly

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There are a plethora of blogs on the internet. From business advice, to lifestyle gurus offering their own take on situations, to film critic sites, and the written opinions of those who play music for a living. And if someone enjoys writing, odds are they have a blog somewhere out there.

Promoting your blog correctly can be a tough job to achieve well. It requires time, dedication and the willingness to use the best methods, and then to try them again if things do not stick. Success can come all at once or not at all for a year. However, there are measures you can take to ensure that your blog gains the best growth that it can, evergreen measures that will never cease in their tireless wisdom.

As someone hoping to launch their blog a little further into the mainstream, you may consider this to be a worthwhile goal. You would be right in thinking that, but you need to know how to begin, and how to begin effectively. In the following words, we’ll help you get there:

Connect With Other Bloggers

Blogs and bloggers are not isolated parties stuck on their own desert island. They want to connect. It is in the very nature of writing and sharing said posts with the internet. As a blogger, supporting and engaging with the posts of others can help you gain the insight you needed, and also avoid the bad practices that you might see.

Additionally, you might connect with bloggers through collaborative posts, through a meeting of minds and sharing audiences, through working on projects together or being a part of the same blogging network that you may also run. When you connect in this manner, you make plenty of difference in the long run, and may even share audiences.

Keep Your Posts Available

It’s important to encourage as much organic traffic to your blog as possible. This is where techniques such as hands free SEO can come into play. From using SEO services to increase your search ranking listings, to becoming a host for affiliated posts that have SEO practices carefully applied to said content, keeping posts available and easily findable can not only help you ensure your blog is seen, it can earn you money in the process. This is the dream for many bloggers, and provided you have a good platform it’s not as hard to pull off as you might imagine.

Think Of Other Mediums

Many bloggers might see themselves in a competition with those who provide content elsewhere, such as the ever growing popularity of YouTubers. But why fight them when you can also join them and diversify your content offering? Having both a YouTube channel and blog working in tandem can help give your posts more visibility on either side. With modern phone cameras and easy editing suites available, posting this sort of worthwhile content is easier than ever.

With this advice, we hope your can promote your blog correctly, but also successfully.

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Ensuring That Your Business Keeps Growing

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Creating a successful business is tough, but it’s even harder to maintain success. Many companies reach a peak before suddenly declining, but this doesn’t have to be the fate of your business. It’s possible to climb to the top of your industry and stay there. It just requires continuous growth. And we’re talking about more than continuously hiring new people or expanding your company’s headquarters. After all, nothing can physically expand endlessly; we live in a finite world. We’re talking about a growth of ideas. We’re talking about your company progressing forwards. So, here’s how to ensure that your business keeps growing.

Do your research.

One of the best ways to ensure that your business keeps growing is to do your research. It’s as simple as that. The marketplace keeps changing, so you have to pay attention to those changes. Otherwise, you’ll fall behind. Your competitors are all doing their research, so if you want to beat your rivals, then you have to do the same. Success is driven by knowledge. If you know more than your competitors with regards to your target market, then you’ll be able to offer the best products and services to them.

Filling a gap in the market is all about knowing what’s missing from your particular industry. By researching your potential and existing customers thoroughly, you’ll be able to find solutions for their problems. Talk to people. Ask consumers what’s wrong with your company and the marketplace at large. In turn, you’ll be able to spot problems that your competitors have yet to solve. That’s how you’ll find an opportunity to stand out from the crowd and attract new customers. You need to keep searching for your next USP if you want to ensure that your business keeps growing.

Work on the design of the office.

The design of your office has a massive effect on the mood of your workers. If you want to increase productivity, then you should improve the appearance of your company’s workplace. That’ll serve to maintain the steady and continuous growth of your business. After all, you rely on your members of staff to work hard and keep delivering a high-quality standard of service. You can’t reach an optimal level of operations if your team is uninspired.

Painting the walls white could allow light to brighten up the office. Some plants and flowers could give the space a vibrant aesthetic. You should also keep the place comfortable. Ergonomic chairs and keyboards will benefit your workers. You might also want to learn more about heat cables to help de-ice your building’s roof and gutters during the winter months. It’s important to keep your workplace in good shape. Keeping it well-designed and comfortable will keep your employees happy. They’ll work productively, and this will ensure that your business keeps growing.

Get help from your clients.

Another smart way to ensure that your business keeps growing is to get help from your clients. In order to expand, you need to attract potential customers in your target market, and people are always more willing to listen to the word of other happy customers. Of course, you might have happy clients, but they might not necessarily be spreading the word.

Nobody thinks to spread the word about every good consumer experience they have. You have to give clients an incentive. Maybe a referral scheme could help. If you give discounts and other gifts to customers for referring your company to a friend, then they’ll be more inclined to start telling people about your brand.

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The Importance Of Visual Communication In Business

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

In today's competitive business climate, it can seem almost impossible to stand out from the crowd. But someone's got to grab the attention of those customers and get them to part with their cash, so why can't it be you and your business? It may as well be.

To cut through the clutter and get people to stand up and pay attention to you and your company, you need to be using visual communication. 

Effective visual communication is more than just a photograph with a catchy headline, a video with graphics, or an impressive convention display. Visual communications can become a powerful tool in meeting your sales and marketing objectives, whether that's communicating to customers about how your product or service works or how it may integrate with their existing business environment. A functional diagram or chart can help to depict processes and eliminate customer confusion. Visual communications examples include demonstrating products or services, illustrating product integrations, highlight features, and benefits, and explaining a buying process. 

Internally, teams can create visual process charting techniques, decision mapping diagrams, or organization charts that communicate responsibilities and collaboration potential for groups. Examples of internal visual communications include organization charts, new product development roadmaps, business process documentation, lead generation process, managing inbound marketing campaigns, and production workflows. While these are all important, there are more reasons you need to be visually communicating to your customers to make your business a success:

To Get Attention 

Visuals get people to stop in their tracks, and they are more likely to look at your content if there are pictures and colors rather than a load of text. People stay on the page longer when there are more photos because they want to see what photo will come next. More so, the video will grab their attention. According to a study from HubSpot, 78% of people watch online videos every week, and 55% view online videos every day, and by 2020, online videos will make up more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic. These stats are pretty impressive. And if you're not on board with video yet for your business, then now is the time you need to start. 

Video is the future, and while you might have been busy making sure you're on the first page of Google, you might have missed the fact that YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. People use Youtube a lot for online tutorials or educational style videos as one of the biggest things that people search is "how-to," so if this is something you can capitalize on in your business, then you really should be making the most of it and getting a slice of the action.

If you add visual communication in the form of video to your website, you will increase your search rankings massively on Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Having video will also make your website fifty times more likely to appear on the first page of search results.

As well as these figures, 40% of consumers have also said that seeing a video on a website increases the chance that they will purchase a product on their mobile, whereas website visitors are 64% more likely to buy after watching a video on a website. But if you can't manage videos right now, anything with a visual component will get you more clicks, and more clicks equal more revenue. 

To Make Your Business Look Good

Your visuals represent your business, so it's essential to pick visual content that conveys the brand image you want. Nearly half of consumers consider a website's design to be the top criterion for discerning the credibility of a company; people are drawn to web content that's more visually appealing because it seems like higher quality. 

It's Easier For Customers

Because we have more information to digest today than ever before, people always look for tools to help increase processing efficiency. In other words, since there is so much content vying for our attention and time, we have to find ways to digest it faster than ever before. We respond to visual content better, and it's estimated that 90% of the information that travels to the brain is visual, and we process these visuals 60,000 times faster than we process text.

You Can Share It On Social Media

Most people today like to use social media sites and with a vast audience on each platform, scrolling through and looking for engaging content, visual content is essential for your business.

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6 Ways to Make a Better 1st Impression on Your Website

By: Rosana Beechum

Perhaps one of the most important lessons in life you learned early on was when your mother told you that “first impressions matter” so be on your best behaviour. You have carried this with you throughout your life and have always striven to do such things as dressing appropriately for important meetings with new clients or keeping your office neat and well-organised.

Power players know how important that first impression is and there is even a science behind ‘why’ they matter as much as they do, according to Psychology Today. So, how does this translate to your website? How can you make a better first impression online? The following tips should get you started on the right foot, and isn’t that what a first impression really is? Putting the best foot forward? Let’s take a look.

1. Dress to Kill

Yes, it’s an overused cliché but one that is more important than you think! Here, we are not talking about the clothes you are wearing because you could obviously be in your pajamas and no one would be the wiser. It is a website, after all, and unless you have a live video feed from your office, what you are wearing doesn’t make a difference. Here, it is important to develop a visually attractive website that will immediately grab attention. A professional web development company will help you design a site that is perfect for your industry and this is why it’s better to let the ‘tailor’ dress you, your website that is! Make sure it fits.

2. Every Visitor Matters

Another way to make a great first impression is to let each, and every, visitor know that they are important to you. It is especially important when they’ve signed up for your newsletter or have signed up to download an informative e-book, which by the way also makes a great first impression! Once you have that all-important email address, follow up immediately with a thank you for signing up email. The Sendinblue website has several ideas for how this is done. Show your visitors that they are appreciated and that you will make every effort to keep the ‘relationship’ alive.

3. Work from a Position of Authority

Today’s customers are altogether disenchanted with the level of incompetence in almost every industry across the board. They are tired of ordering defective or inferior products and even more frustrated with the lack of customer service. In reference to that downloadable e-book mentioned above, it shows that you care about keeping them informed. It shows that you are giving them, free of charge, invaluable knowledge so that they are well informed prior to making a purchase. Once you establish yourself as an authority in your industry, they will immediately form an impression that you are to be trusted.

4. Build on the Trust Factor

After so many bad experiences with businesses, a consumer is less likely to trust the next company that comes along. It is imperative that you build on the trust factor, according to Fortune magazine, and you can do this in a number of ways on your website. A well-populated FAQ section helps as does that welcoming email and the e-book you’ve given freely. You may also wish to set up a chatbot so that they can communicate with a customer service rep to ask any questions they may have or simply get a feel for your company’s personality. Consumers today want to identify with companies they do business with, so make sure to work on developing a high level of trust.

5. Videos Attract

A growing number of consumers are more interested in watching a short video presentation than reading that e-book you’ve published. It is now being suggested that you offer at least one professionally shot video on your landing page. Whether it’s an introduction to your company or a brief presentation of products and services you offer, that video will make a remarkably good first impression because, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. How much more do you think moving pictures, videos, are worth?

6. Testimonials and Reviews

You will never know how important customer reviews and testimonials can prove to be. Since trust is such a huge concern in today’s market, one effective way to gain a customer’s trust is to show them a sample of satisfied customers you’ve worked with. Post those testimonials in a prominent location so that they are immediately visible. Talk to your web developer as to how they should be highlighted, but make sure to include them. What better first impression can you make than to show you are well-respected by those you have served in the past?

To borrow yet another old cliché, remember that people do judge a book by its cover and that is exactly what your website is – a cover. It’s the front of a business you are operating under that website and so you do want to make a good first impression. If there is any key takeaway here today it would be to never minimise the importance of making a good first impression. It’s the only one you’ll ever have, so make the most of it.

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Keeping It Professional: Marketing Advice

When marketing your business, keeping it professional is a must. Here are some ideas and suggestions.

Professional invoices

With an effective invoice design, you can reaffirm your professional identity, which will help lead to more business, customer referrals, and such like. However, there is a reason why a lot of people in the US are not using professional invoice designs and this is because they do not have the money to spare on design and print companies. Such businesses usually charge huge sums of money for their services and this makes it impossible for some people to capitalize on the advantages of expert invoice design. Well, until now. All you need to do is look online and you can download templates free of charge.

Letterhead design

Letterhead design is something that most businesses will need to think about at some part. After all, it looks much more professional to have a personalized business letterhead as opposed to using a Word template or something similar. Keeping that in mind, continue reading to discover how to create the perfect letterhead for your business.

Firstly, when designing a letterhead it is advisable to keep it simple. This is not like other branding platforms where you are going to include as much information as possible about your business. Rather, a letterhead is all about creating a professional and trusted air about your business. This is why a minimalistic and simple approach is always advised. Additionally, you need to ensure that your business letterhead is an apt representation of your brand. It should include the same colors as your logo, your website, and all other elements of your corporate image, for example.

What information are you going to include on the letterhead? You will need the basics, from the address of your company to your VAT number. Don’t overload the letterhead with unnecessary content. Finally, color is something that you need to give a lot of consideration too. If you offer legal services, finance services, or something similar, you will probably want to avoid a letterhead that looks like a rainbow. Instead, you should choose professional colors that evoke confidence and are in line with your company’s brand image. 

Sign off your emails

Another area where you need to enhance professionalism when it comes to your marketing efforts is when it comes to email marketing. This is especially important if you are dealing with vital clients or potential clients. You want to give off a good impression. Email signature management software can assist with this, including consistency throughout your email marketing campaign.

Follow the three suggestions above and make your campaign much more professional when marketing your business.

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Four Steps To Sustainable Business Growth

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Business can be brutal and despite entrepreneurialism being on the rise - with record numbers of new start-ups launching over the past few years - the evidence shows that few of them make it past the hurdle of their first year. From cash flow issues to simply not understanding the market well enough, there are multiple reasons why a fledgling business can fail, and you want to ensure that your company doesn’t become one of the statistics.

In order to make it, it's important to have a business growth strategy in place - both to set a clear direction for where you are heading, but also to inform your daily operations in pursuit of this ultimate goal. Difficult as it can be to raise your head above the parapet of business as usual, the avalanche of invoicing, marketing, and general admin you have to handle - if you make time to focus on growth in a systematic way, then you’ll be repaid many times over.

Create Your Value Proposition

When the aim is to sustain long-term, steady growth increases, it becomes imperative to understand exactly what your business DNA is. What problem do you solve in the world? What are your vision and values? How do you add to the lives of your customers? What represents your unique point of difference and how are you credible and relevant to the wider environment? These are the big questions you need to be asking in order to keep your business on the right trajectory.

There are different factors that each business will compete on - from price, to being the thought leader in a certain area. Having this self-knowledge about your company is imperative, because each and every decision you make should be referred back to this central proposition. If it doesn’t make sense for you to do something, then don’t do it. Too many business leaders mistake rapid, scattergun extensions for true growth, which is always more organic and congruent with a brand’s identity.

Know Your Customers Inside Out

Understand who your customer is and what they want may sound simple, but there are countless examples out there of start-ups that failed to adequately answer this question, and had a very short lifespan as a result. Consistent consumer research is the only way to really keep on top of what is certainly a moveable feast - so get into the habit of continually soliciting feedback, whether it's through web-based surveys, face-to-face at trade events or using social listening to understand the discussion. Keep one finger on the pulse of wider macroeconomic trends and learn to interpret data into actionable insights about your audience.

Upskill Your Staff

Growth means one thing - more resource. And the resource that you have in your people is the most important one. Helping staff to upskill so that they can develop and grow alongside your business is absolutely key to success. Invest in extra training so that your team can handle the challenges of upscaling the business.

If you need to recruit, employee referrals are also a great way to do it - if you’ve built a company with a strong sense of identity and mission that treats its staff well then it shouldn’t be hard to convince those staff to spread the word. Loyalty works both ways and can really pay dividends when it comes time to upscale your operations.

Set Clear Goals

Changes you make to your business need to be measurable. Setting achievable development goals with clear KPIs and measurable outcomes is the only way to be sure that you’re making meaningful progress in the right areas. Set out in advance what key indicators are the most important influences on your business growth, and invest the most time and money on those areas. Make smaller, iterative changes over time and measure the outcomes, so that you can see progress and what’s working and not very clearly.

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10 Copywriting Tips to Drive More Leads to Your Business

By: Diana Nadim

In case you haven’t already grasped the power of copywriting, now it is time that we clear your doubts. Investing your time, energy, and (when needed) money in your copy has a direct impact on the number of leads.

The reason why marketers are turning to content marketing is that it costs 62% less than traditional marketing tactics but it generates 3x more leads.

However, if you want to see results, you need to master copywriting. Creating content without any effort won’t do the trick. With the following ten essential tips, you’ll be able to write copy that generates leads.

1. Create persuasive headlines and subject lines

The first impression always matters the most. According to Copyblogger.com, on average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. Not to mention that 47% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line

Just think about it. If you don’t catch your audience’s interest in the first thing they see, how will you get them to read the rest? If the initial copy is bad, you won’t even get a chance to persuade them to take action.

Writing a good headline copy or a subject line will do half of the job. What can help in this process is:

·      using power words (new, free, now, act, action, exciting, etc.)

·      being direct

·      creating a sense of urgency

·      evoking their interest

·      using questions (e.g. Are you ready for this amazing offer?)

·      being concise

2. Think about who you are writing for

How can you create an effective copy if you don’t know who is your target audience?

Consider what type of people mostly use or could use your products. Think about their age, gender, employment, interests, pressure points, and so on.

It is helpful if you create a customer persona and modify your copy based on that. This can affect the vocabulary you use, the information you decide to include, and your writing style.

3. Listen to your audience

There is more to copywriting than choosing the right writing style. What you write about also plays a crucial role. If you feel like you can’t reach your audience, there is a way to change that.

The solution is to listen to what they have to say.

Read through reviews, testimonials, and comments your previous customers have left and you’ll get all the scoop.

You’ll find out what they like and what they dislike which will provide you guidelines on what you should write about.

4. Get personal

No, this doesn’t mean that you need to open your heart to the users. It means that you should add some emotion and personalize the copy.

Generic content is outdated. People don’t respond to plain, emotionless copy. Whether you are writing an email or website content, you need to personalize it.

Even though you need to stay professional, you should still show them that there is someone behind that brand logo.

For example, in the “About” section on your website, include some fun story or an anecdote that happened at the beginning of your journey.

Or, when you are sending out emails, make sure that you personalize them. 

5. Focus on readability

Readers want copy that will be enticing to follow. Using complicated words, jargon, or long sentences will avert their attention.

Engage readers with a conversational tone and structured text. This means that you should use headings, subheadings, bullets, and short paragraphs.

Before you publish any copy, run it through a readability test tool. There is a general rule that you should aim for a score of 60 or higher.

6. Invest in your writing

Whether you are writing an email, a blog post, or creating a web page, your copy needs to be high-quality.

What falls under high-quality copy is well-written, informative, entertaining, proofread, and edited content.

If you are not a talented writer, admit that to yourself. There are always online services such as Trust My Paper that offer the help of professional writers. You can always learn a trick or two from these writing experts.

For editing and proofreading, you can use free apps like Hemingway Editor and Grammarly.

7. Put the customers in the center of attention

Instead of “we” try to use “you.”

What does this mean?

Well, it means that the focus of your copy should be the customer, not your business.

For example:

·      Don’t: We have a sale.

·      Do: You are about to save a whole lot of money on this sale.

The whole point of this strategy is to emphasize the benefits that your customers will have when using your services.

You need to show them that their happiness is your primary interest.

8. Become a storyteller

A story makes everything more memorable. I don’t know about you, but whenever I see “Let me tell you a story” this simple sentence instantly catches my attention.

There is something about stories that make each information stick to our brain much easier. If the users remember you, there is a higher possibility that they will become a returning customer and recommend your services.

Add a story about your employees, about your business, or even imaginary stories about your products.

9. Be authentic

While using other people’s ideas for inspiration is okay, it is not okay if you copy them.

You need to provide real value with your copy by making it original.

Even though it is hard to stand out in this competitive business world, each of us has something special that makes us one of a kind. The same applies to the business.

Think about what separates you from others. Let your creativity go wild and create copy that will depict your business’ personality.

10. Use images

Humans are visual beings. If something is pleasant to the eye, people will instantly be more attracted to it.

Keep this in mind when you write your copy and enhance it with some images. You can add them to your web page, posts, or emails. It works well with any type of copy.

By using corresponding images, you’ll emphasize all the important points.

Be careful about what type of images you add. They all need to be relevant and high-resolution if you want them to have the desired effect.

Over to you

Most people think that writing copy comes naturally. In reality, it is a skill that needs perfecting just like any other. The more work you put into it, the better the results will be.

Embracing these techniques and strategies can improve bring you success. Once you master copywriting with the help of these tips, you’ll see how much power it has.

It's Not Too Late To Get Media Coverage This Year!

How to Create a Publicity Campaign that Produces Results Now!

Whether you're a brand new start-up or you're an established company with 100 employees, your business can benefit from publicity now.

With the third quarter right around the corner, why not start creating a publicity plan that can help your brand or small business get media coverage right now? Create a plan that will help reach your objectives and stay on track right through the end of the year with the simple step-by-step publicity plan below.

Step 1: Goal and Objective Setting

Determine what your goals and objectives are for the rest of the year.

• Do you want to raise awareness for your small business, brand, or blog?

• Are you looking to partner with social media stars, D-list celebrities, and other influencers?

• Do you want to get more website traffic and increase your email subscriber base?

• Are you looking to increase sales?

• Do you want to launch a new product or service? Expand into new markets?

• Are you looking to enhance your small business, brand, or blog goodwill?

• Do you want to position yourself as a thought leader or expert within your industry?

• Is your business or blog receiving negative comments on review sites? Do you need to protect your small business, brand, or blog's reputation?

• Is your small business, brand, or blog going through a public issue or a crisis?

Once you know what you want to achieve, you'll be able to start all of the following activities.

Step 2: Defining Your Target Audience

The key to long-term success is to zero in on your target audience(s).

• How old is your target market?

• What are the hobbies and interests?

• What publications do they read and what television shows do they watch?

• What type of lifestyle do they have?

• Where are they located?

• What are their shopping habits?

• Are they active online and on social media?

• What's the most important quality they look for in a business? Quality? Price? Customer service?

Try to get as specific as possible here.  

Step 3: Swot Analysis

If you haven't seen a SWOT Analysis before, this is the area where you'll analyze your brand's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. While SWOT's are generally used in marketing and business plans, they can be hugely beneficial when used in a publicity plan too.

1. A strength exists internally and is something in which your organization excels.

2. A weakness exists internally and is a limitation or an area that could be improved.

3. An opportunity exists externally, and is something that's positive and can be used to gain an advantage.

4. A threat exists externally and is something that can potentially harm an organization.

Your SWOT analysis will be one of the most important positioning and competitive analysis elements of your publicity campaign.

Step 4: Messaging

Messages serve as the foundation of your publicity efforts and should be consistent across forms of communication. But before you start developing your messaging platform, consider the following.

• What will you include?

• What points do you want to make?

• What tone will you use?

• What's your brand's personality?

Again, get as specific as possible here. You're better off limiting each point of communication to three messages or less.

Step 5: Tactical Outreach/Channels of Communication

Determine what media outlets you'd like to target.

• Are you looking to get coverage online, in print, on television, or on the radio?

• What media outlets will you pitch?

• Are you pitching within the outlet's editorial calendar deadline?

• Does your product fit perfectly into a specific section of that media outlet?

How will you communicate your messages to the media? Email? Telephone? In person meetings?

Step 6: Measurement and Evaluation

Determine how you will measure and evaluate your publicity efforts. You need to be able to track how each piece of media coverage impacts your website traffic, email subscribers, leads, and sales to make sure you're hitting your objectives.

Step 7: Budget

What resources do you have available to start your publicity campaign?

Will you manage your campaign yourself or you will outsource it to a freelancer or a PR firm?  

Step 8: Timeline

How long will your publicity campaign run?

How often will you measure and evaluate your progress?

Is publicity part of your marketing strategy? If so, how far in advance did you make your plan? Describe your comments in the section below.

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