29

Mar

Here are 5 Quick Ways to Improve Your Online Presence

Build it and they will come, right?

Not always. In fact, it is rare that an extraordinary blog, service, or product gets found without significant legwork to get the word out to the people who matter most – your prospects.

In the online world especially, information is coming at us from left, right, e-mail, Twitter, advertisements, links, it is endless. To establish an online presence is without a doubt a challenge, but certainly not impossible.

1. Start by asking your current readers what they want to hear from you

While your consumer base may be small, ask everyone who follows you how they want to receive information and what they want to hear more of from you. You don’t have to come outright and ask for feedback, because busy people have a hard time responding. Instead, pay attention to what posts are getting read, what services are being investigated and draw your own conclusions from your website data. Do more of what’s working, and less of what’s not.

2. Listen to what’s being said about you

Set up a Google news alert and utilize social media monitoring tools. It’s crucial that you are always in the know of what people are saying about your business. If you ignore it, you can’t respond, or fix what people perceive as stuff you’re doing wrong.

3. Lean on and learn from the people you trust

If you’ve built up a network of like-minded people with a passion similar to yours, don’t be afraid to pick their brain a little. People love to share their knowledge, and more importantly, they love to help the people in their network. Lean on and learn from people you admire and respect and follow in their footsteps of what they did to gain their online status.

4. Build your presence offline too

Building a business online does not mean all your efforts stay online. Attend local networking events, go to tradeshows and be active, get out in your community somehow and spread the word about what you do. You’ll make more connections and may be surprised by the help you come by offline that will build your business online.

5. Take advantage of your small biz status and stay nimble

Large corporations have big hurdles to jump before anything can get done. Be aware of what you learn from listening and talking to your customers and network, and apply it quickly. The faster you change what you know needs to be changed, the sooner your business will grow. If something doesn’t work, you can quickly revert back to what you were doing before. Being a small business gives you extra legs to stand on as far as agility. Take advantage.

An online presence is hard to develop. The internet is such a crowded field that offers a multitude of possibilities but with that, many challenges. Don’t be afraid to use the people in your business and network to help grow your presence online.

What other tips do you have for building a strong online presence?

12 years ago Short URL 2 Comments

Tips and How To's

28

Mar

The Crossfit Guide to Becoming Stronger in Business

One thing I make pretty well known is my passion for Crossfit. I love pushing my own limits and testing my own strengths. If you’re a freelancer, or entrepreneur, you have the same mindset. It takes mental grit to pursue your dreams and power forward, even when the going gets tough. And it will get tough.

Being in the gym, specifically a Crossfit gym, I’ve learned the importance of pushing my own limits, and doing so with good form. Looking back on each of my workouts, Crossfit has taught me about the strength it takes to enter and conquer the business world.

So… 3, 2, 1… GO!

Here are the lessons Crossfit taught me, and can teach you, about business:

  • Don’t make excuses, just get it in and get it done – We all have our off days. Excuses are easier to come by than dedication, and sometimes the fear of failure can be paralyzing. In Crossfit, just as in business, the first step is getting in the door and getting started with what you know has to be done. Business, as in workouts, isn’t always a ride in the park. But without pushing yourself to get things done, your business will get out of shape, and fast.
  • What you do outside from the gym affects your performance in the gym – At many Crossfit gyms, the importance of excellent nutrition is taught to keep people healthy even when they are not working out. In business, when you don’t get enough rest or have the right balance of family and work in your life, your performance tends to suffer. Taking care of you is critical in all aspects of life.
  • The accomplishment is in the practice – At the end of each workout, a Crossfitter hopes they’ve beat their personal best. And if they have, they aim to do better next time. Go heavier, and go faster every time is the goal. It’s the practice that makes us great. Not the end result. In business, hitting goals is important to success. But once those goals are hit, keep going. Set new goals for yourself and keep aiming higher. You get stronger by doing, not by reaching a certain level and stopping.
  • Good form is important – In spite of the goal to go faster and heavier each time, good form is important. In business, if you’ve realized you’ve made a mistake or are going so fast that the business will ultimately suffer, stop. Take a step back and do things right. To grow and get stronger, the right path is not always full steam ahead, but it does always require good form.

Crossfit, like business, makes people stronger. It continues to test a person’s strength, and prove new limits that they never thought were attainable. Push your business. Take what you know you can do and push yourself to do 20% more every time. Chances are, you will amaze yourself at your own success.

What has your hobby taught you about business?

12 years ago Short URL Comments

Career

27

Mar

Create Landing Pages that Convert

You have spent days, weeks, sometimes months coming up with the content and creative that will drive traffic to your site, but have you planned what to do once people get there?

Too often, businesses send customers from a campaign to their homepage hoping that something there will strike them in the same way their promotion triggered them to go to their website. But targeted marketing does not stop after the person clicks through to your site. It should continue all the way until the transaction is completed. There should be a consistent process that makes the potential customer feel comfortable and like the company is speaking directly to them through the entire experience.

Designing and producing a landing page that converts is not an easy task. Here are four ways you can do immediately to increase the conversion rate on your landing pages.

  1. Use the same language throughout the campaign – While it may seem obvious, don’t forget that what peaks a person’s interest to go to your site, is the same thing that will push them over the edge to do what you sent them to your site to do. Stay consistent with the language used on your website so they will feel more like you are having a conversation with them, rather than selling them a product or service.
  2. Eliminate the ability to navigate to other pages – Each campaign should have a very specific idea of exactly what you want the people drive to your site to do. Don’t let them scour around, reading details that may make them lose interest, or lose time. Immediately hit them with how you’re going to make their life better and get them on board with your company.
  3. Spy on the competition – If your customers are coming to you, chances are they have also, or will also, check out your competition. See what other people are doing in your niche and scrutinize the details of their process. Then, go back to your own page and do the same. Keep what you like, and improve what stumps you up along the way.
  4. Think simplicity – You don’t want to make the decision difficult for your customer. Put the most important information in the top 300 pixels of the page so that they see immediately what it is you want them to do. Encourage people to engage with you by not overfilling the page with text and keeping any blocks of content to less than five lines at a time.

Landing pages are your way of finalizing a transaction. Think of it more as a conversation from start to finish. The opening line is your advert that got them to the site, and your ‘see you later’ statement is the thank you screen once they perform the task you want them to perform.

12 years ago Short URL Comments

Content Marketing/Tips and How To's

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25

Mar

What a Great Bottle of Wine can teach you About Business

A few times each year, I take a trip with good friends down to Sonoita, Arizona, a small city just outside of Tucson. In this small town are several vineyards, each with a variety of wines – sweet, dry, white, red, one for every taste. Recently, while wine tasting with friends, I got to thinking about business. After all, business is my passion so it’s always on my mind.

I came to the conclusion that a good bottle of wine is a great example of what a great business should look like.

While it may sound a bit ridiculous at first, wine truly is an experience similar to a business transaction. From the choosing of the bottle, to the popping of the cork, to finishing the last drop with a few good friends, there are lessons to be learned from the vineyards on how to run your business.

For example…

  • Your name or label will attract your buyer – If you are like many of my friends, you will find a wine with a funny name, or an entertaining label. Your business name and website should be similar.  Find a name that represents your brand, and design a website that attracts your target market. Whether it is the classic look of the Kendall Jackson bottle, or the fun name of Cupcake wine, your business should reflect who you are all around.
  • Smell good, and taste better – Once your visitor has reached your store or website, they will be sniffing around for those enticing words that will show them what you have to offer. The sniffing is what will make them purchase. But in business, just as in wine, you want to smell good and taste better. When your new customer takes the first sip of your product, it should always exceed their expectations. While you want to your offering to be alluring, the first sip of your product should blow your customers away and make them happy they chose your company do business with.
  • As you get swirled around, make sure your name sticks – A good wine filled with tannins will leave a slight residue, also known as “legs” on the side of the glass. When your business name gets swirled around, give it the legs it needs to stick with the people who hear about it. Word of mouth marketing is one of the cheapest forms of advertising. In today’s ever increasing viral world, make sure it’s your name that will stick in people’s minds.
  • Get better with age – As your business grows, so should your offering and product. Experience teaches businesses a lot. Hearing customers, what they want and don’t want, can open up new opportunities and shut down costly operations that would have otherwise failed. As your company grows, grow with it and age tastefully.

Wine is a complex drink, just as the world of business is complex. But the lessons we can learn from popping open a great bottle can be carried over and make us better business owners in the long run.

What lessons has your favorite bottle of wine taught you?

12 years ago Short URL Comments

Career

22

Mar

Online Marketing Secrets for New Businesses

The internet has created a way for new businesses to put their name out to their potential customers in new ways. In the past, costly traditional marketing, such as television or print advertisements, inhibited many new businesses from breaking into the market. Internet marketing is the game changer, and now, by knowing just a few online marketing secrets, any new business has a chance at establishing their name and getting in front of the eyes of their potential customers.

Social Media

With millions of people on Facebook, Twitter, and more up and coming social networks, such as Pinterest, new businesses have the opportunity to reach their potential customers where they already are. This is one of the online marketing secrets not utilized enough by new businesses. By posting interesting, informative, and fun personal material in a social network, new businesses not only get in front of the eyes of potential customers, but also give them an easy way to spread the word about their business.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is still in its infancy, but smart new businesses are using it to their advantage. Articles, company blogs, guest blog posts, and more, are another one of the great online marketing secrets. It is cost effective to produce, and the results seen from these online marketing secrets are long lasting. Consistently producing high quality content can generate traffic to a new business’s website for days, weeks, and months down the road delivering fresh leads. Also, by consistently posting new, high quality content, to a website, search engines recognize that the business is active and they rank higher on the search engine results.

Search Engine Optimization

Getting up high on the search engines with a company name is easy enough. But another one of the top online marketing secrets used by new businesses is the ability to get in front of potential customers eyes when they are searching for a specific product, but not a specific business. Businesses want customer to find them under broader terms when searching for the product or service they provide. Finding keywords that match these search queries is the first step. Then, new businesses must use these keywords throughout their website, and also generate back links from other high quality sites from these keywords through articles or guest blog posts.

Lead Generation

The internet has given new opportunities to reach people. New businesses know one of the best online marketing secrets out there is how to generate leads by providing useful information in new ways. Offerings, such as a white paper or webinar, in exchange for an e-mail address will help gain the contact information for potential clients. Then, new businesses can use this contact information to nurture the leads so that when they are ready to use the product or service, the business is already in the minds of potential clients.

The internet has opened up new doors for new businesses. The competitive playing field has been leveled and now companies are getting new ways to attract new clients, even when their pockets are not overflowing with cash. Using these online marketing secrets, new businesses have the potential to reach their clients on the internet for a significantly lower cost than traditional methods of marketing.

12 years ago Short URL 1 Comment

Tips and How To's

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16

Mar

How to let the Fear of Failure Propel You

At some point, you’re going to fail.

No, that’s not a pessimistic attitude, it’s the truth. And guess what? It’s ok.

You’ve failed in your past, and look where you’re at. Still able to sit up and read this blog post enough to comprehend what’s being splashed across your screen, so you’re probably just fine. Even after a failure.

Failure is something so many people fear. The most common reaction is to run from our fears and run from the possibilities of imminent failure. We’re terrified of letting people down, or worse, letting ourselves down. Yet, what we don’t realize is that failure to try is far worse than failure to succeed at something you’ve given your all to.

What’s more important is to consider is how you overcome your fear of failing.

You could start by not getting out of bed every day to face the world, but that in and of itself is considered failing by many. You face so much in your daily lives that just having the courage to get up and start each day should already be enough of a reason to congratulate yourself.

But don’t get too excited, because that’s not enough. You next have to determine what you’re going to do with that day you just took on.

Start by setting goals. Daily goals, weekly goals, monthly, yearly, lifetime, etc. goals. And set them in a smart way, where you can hold yourself accountable to meeting specific numbers or any other performance measure of your choosing.

And then get ready to fail.

That’s right, get on the horse and start riding. As soon as you miss one of those goals, get back on the horse and keep going until you make it. Determine what caused you to fall and then move on. The faster you move on, the faster you’ll get away from that failure you feared so much, and realize that you’re still moving forward.

See, failure does not have to be permanent. People fail every day at work, at home, in their relationships, but most of the time, they do not fail to such a dramatic extent that they completely ruin any one of these lifelines. In fact, something that may have appeared as a failure at first, could turn into a blessing in disguise.

So stop the fear of failure and embrace it. Get up and get going and prove to yourself you can do more than you thought.

12 years ago Short URL 2 Comments

Career

15

Mar

4 Content Marketing Excuses you can Easily Overcome Today

Content marketing is expected to grow and is considered one of the top trends in overall marketing for 2012. If you’re competition is doing it, you need to be too or you risk falling behind. So whether it’s you making excuses to yourself, or your boss who continues to churn out excuse after excuse as to why traditional advertising is better than this new trend of content marketing, you’re in luck.

Here are 4 excuses, deflated, so you can get your business on track with a better (and less expensive) way to brand your business and market your product.

  1. “There’s not enough time” – Far too often, organizations find that it is difficult to find someone with available hours to spend actually creating high quality, unique content. And let’s be honest, quality content takes time to create. That’s where copywriters come in. The investment in hiring a copywriter to help create content for your business has long lasting effects. Not only is it cheaper than print or traditional forms of advertising, but the results you get from the work delivered last long into the future. A great post can continue to generate traffic for weeks, months, or even years.
  2. “My target market doesn’t look at content online” – The internet is used far too often to ignore the value of having a quality, informative website. Content marketing is not just for the people who visit your website regularly, but it’s more importantly used to draw in new business. Content marketing keeps your website current and filled with articles, blog posts, and information that will reach a whole new crowd and draw in more people.
  3. “We’ll give away too much about our business” – This is a common fear of CEO’s and higher level management. People, who are so used to keeping everything to themselves until a contract is signed, or until a sale is closed, see content marketing as a possible threat to achieving their goals. But content marketing can actually make their jobs easier. Content shows prospects what your company has to offer, and establishes you as an expert in your industry so you can close more sales and land more deals than if the prospect knew little about you.
  4. “This is just one other marketing initiative that my business can wait to do” – Content marketing ties in to all aspects of the marketing business. From more meaningful newsletters sent to customers, to richer websites or promotional materials, to improved SEO, content is key to making each piece of marketing a success. With high quality content, you can draw people into your business faster, and keep them coming back for more.

This focus in marketing is not a trend, it is a way for businesses to reach new prospects, bring in higher quality leads, and offer more to their existing customer base.

What excuses have you heard, or are you making to yourself to not utilize the power of content marketing?

12 years ago Short URL Comments

Content Marketing

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14

Mar

4 Ways Content Marketing can Grow Your Business

Content marketing is the new buzz word in the online marketing world. While it is rapidly gaining popularity, it is still in its infancy. Businesses are only starting to see the way this new form of marketing will help them spread the word about their brand, and establish their brand as a leader in their market.

Some content marketing has faded out, such as keyword stuffed articles being posted on low ranking websites. Instead, high quality content at a significantly lower cost to businesses than traditional advertising methods, is taking an enormous upswing. Startups, SMB’s and others are able to use the power of the internet, and viral marketing to spread the word about their company, and are able to level the competitive playing field through lower cost ways to get their name out to their market.

And here are just a few ways your business can benefit from content marketing too.

  1. Invite users on social media to help – The reason why social media has exploded as a medium for communication, reconnecting with old friends and flames, and getting to know the more personal side of businesses is because people love being in the know, and sharing what they know. Companies have used social media outlets to encourage this interaction. Whether it’s through a retweet of something interesting announced by a business, or a photo contest to get people to take a picture with your product and post it to their social media network, people are getting more involved with businesses everyday online and promoting them for free.
  2. Integrate campaigns – Separating offline and online marketing is out, and now consumers expect to see the brands they love interacting offline in the same ways they do online. All marketing should lead back to the same goal, which could be sending people to your brick and mortar store, or to your website.
  3. Improve your SEO – This won’t change as long as businesses continue to produce high quality unique content. Those companies who have consistently produced articles, blog posts, guest blog posts, and other web content to be shown on the internet, are the ones who also consistently appear in the top 10 search results on Google. And it’s simple to understand why. Google sees their website as relevant and current – two things the search engine giant knows their searchers are searching for.
  4. Generate high quality leads – Want to get your name out to the people who are looking for help from a business exactly like yours? Then give them the help they need and get in front of them when they’re looking for it. Generate high quality leads by publishing useful content all over the internet. Putting your name out there and establishing yourself as an expert in your field will send you visitors who are interested in your product, making your bounce rate lower and conversion rates higher.

There are loads of ways your business can use content marketing to help lower costs and grow. Those businesses who are most successful in their industries are the ones who are putting these content marketing strategies into action.

What are you doing for content marketing in your business?

12 years ago Short URL Comments

Content Marketing

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