What’s the one thing that all successful businesses have in common?

That’s right; they generate income.

The problem with generating income, however, is that you need to attract your target audience first and use the right strategies to convert them into leads and buyers. That’s the reason most small business owners pay such close attention to things like enticing copy, great pricing strategies, A/B testing, and email marketing.

Read more

Can you guess what the 2015 Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year was?

It was the “face with tears of joy” emoji.

That’s right. For the first time in history, they chose an image as their word of the year. The decision might be surprising for some people, but if you think about the way we communicate, you will soon realize that emojis have become a constant in our daily digital lives.

Read more

It’s a given. As long as you are providing goods and services to clients, be it online or not – but especially when online, you will get through what most local business owners dread: customer complaints. They’re scary; they’re confusing, and they’re not going anywhere.

Without a doubt, paying close and dedicated attention to keeping your customers content and loyal is a big one. But even though you might be investing real efforts into this, you will still find yourself facing customer complaints.

Read more

Keeping your creative juices flowing can sometimes be a bit tricky, especially if you are supposed to do so constantly. But, when the success of your small business depends on it, there’s no choice. You have to do it.

Or do you?

Read more

Imagine gaining tens of thousands of leads to fuel your small business. Now imagine doing it all for free. No, I’m not crazy, and I am not pitching some shady online marketing technique to you. In fact, I want to talk about a huge opportunity many small and local business owners are ignoring.

YouTube.

Read more

Frustrating, isn’t it?

You work your tail off to create compelling product offers and engaging articles that are sure to answer your audience’s needs.

But, then you soon discover that only a handful of people have viewed your offer.

You know it shouldn’t be like that, and you are completely right. Something is missing. And that something is called “community” – the secret sauce for small business success.

Read more

Here’s the frustrating Catch-22 snaring small business owners: too much automation is bad for conversion, but too little automation means a lot of money, time, and stress.

So, where exactly do you draw the line? How can you decide what’s the proper amount of automation you should use to keep your marketing personal? And, most importantly, how can you avoid sounding like HAL 9000 when interacting with customers?

Read more

Imagine you walk into a room and switch on the light. You expect the room to light up, and that’s exactly what happens most of the time.

The same stands true for good customer service. Today’s consumers expect brands to offer stellar customer support. Even though great customer service is good for your small business’s reputation, it’s not enough.

Read more

Live streaming isn’t something new. There are several online platforms that allow you to stream a live video, such as YouTube, Livestream, or Twitch.

Last year, live streaming became all the rage when every marketer, small business owners, and regular people discovered Periscope. The platform grew to one million users just ten days after the launch and hit the 10 million users mark at the end of its first year.

Read more

What do you do when you want to boost your lead generation?

Do you test your call to action? Write better copy? Place form fields strategically?

All these are great options that could help you grow your email list. But, there’s one element that has the power to persuade visitors to convert. I’m talking about the lead magnet.

Read more