7 Creative Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses

Thank You Notes

Great marketing goes beyond designing a great logo. Promoting a business can be a challenging task, particularly if you’re after a fresh, creative approach. Of course, marketing a small business can be even more difficult, as budgets are a lot smaller and networks are much more limited. Here are some creative yet cost-effective ways to market your small business:

1) Repurpose existing content.

Have you written lots of content on a particular subject? There’s no need to let your expertise go to waste. Turn your old blog posts into an e-book, a magazine article, a booklet, or even a marketing video.

2) Host workshops and seminars.

Share your talent and expertise with others by teaching at workshops and speaking at seminars. You’ll get publicity both from marketing the event and the event itself.

3) Get personal.

Send handwritten thank you, birthday, or holiday cards to past and present clients and partners. Although this may seem like a taxing task, many entrepreneurs and small businesses can attest to its effectiveness.

4) Sponsor a local team.

Sponsor a local basketball team or youth camp and you’ll not only get publicity by way of feature articles and press releases, but you’ll also get your company logo on team uniforms and signs. You’ll be able to build brand awareness and become a valuable community member at the same time.

5) Raise funds for a cause.

One of the best ways to market your small business is by getting the entire local community involved. Join up with other non-competing businesses in the area and organize a fundraiser for a particular cause or charitable organization. You’ll not only do your share of good, but you’ll automatically be included in all the marketing efforts of your partners.

6) Host an event.

While networking may be a great way to market your business, hosting an event is an even better way to do so. If possible, offer freebies or free food in order to get more people to attend. An event will allow you to reach a much wider audience at once, and if you’re able to hold the event at your actual location, then people will know where you are and where they can find you in the future.

7) Go where your competition is not.

Take a closer look at your competitors, and see what marketing methods they are and aren’t doing. If they’re not on YouTube, Pinterest, or even in the community newsletter, then maybe it’s time you explore these avenues.

Photo Credit: iClipart

6 Ways to Stay Productive While Working From Home

6 Ways to Stay Productive While Working From Home

According to a study by Stanford University, more than 10 percent of employees in the United States work at home. Of course, while some people report being more productive while working from their home, there are also those who cannot say the same.

If you’re new to working from home, you may find yourself lying on the couch, watching afternoon soap operas, and still in your pajamas by the time dinnertime comes along. If this is the case, then you can use some tips on how to stay productive.

Here are some great ways to make your workday at home a more effective one:

1) Set your space.

Choose one room or area in your house to be your designated workspace. It doesn’t have to be a big space; it simply needs to be enough for your needs. With a set workspace, you’ll be aware that when you’re there, it’s time for you to get serious and get cracking.

2) Define your hours.

Set a schedule for yourself, and stick to it as best as you can. Of course, the beauty of working from home is being able to be more liberal with your hours. If you opt to take three-hour breaks in the middle of the day and end your workday a little later, then that’s completely up to you. What’s important is that you establish a routine and stick to it.

3) Let your family and friends know.

Your family and friends probably believe that you keep flexible hours, and that you are always available for impromptu coffee dates or are free to do their errands. Inform your family and friends of your set working hours and ask that they be respectful of your time.

4) Dress and act the part.

As tempting as it may be to stay unshaven and work in bed, one of the best ways to keep productive is to dress the part. Take a shower, have breakfast, and get dressed for the day ahead. Afterwards, sit at your desk, create a list of your tasks for the day, and get straight to work.

5) Take breaks.

Don’t forget to take regular breaks throughout the day, just like you would if you were in a corporate setting. Take a few minutes every few hours to stand up and stretch, do some household chores, or even leave the house for a quick errand.

6) Learn to disconnect.

As difficult as it may be to go offline in this day and age, do your best to switch off your work mode as soon as your working hours are over. While you don’t have the option of leaving everything at the office, you can turn email notifications off and shut down the computer. Allow your mind and body some time to relax, and you’ll find yourself a lot more productive tomorrow.

Photo Credit: iClipart

7 Video Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners

7 Video Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners

As a small business owner, you probably already know that creating a truly effective video marketing strategy can be rather costly. What you need to know is that you don’t have to work with a professional studio or a celebrity spokesperson to achieve video marketing success.

Here are some practical video marketing tips that every small business owner should know:

1) Keep it real.

Some marketing videos are overly complex, but the great news is that these videos don’t necessarily have to be elaborate in order to be effective. Communicate openly and directly to your viewers, and keep things genuine. It is completely possible to make an impact simply by speaking passionately about your products or sharing expertise on a certain subject.

2)  Keep things simple.

Keep your marketing video short and simple. Some of the most effective marketing videos out there involve a white background, one person, and a great script. Of course, remember to get to the point. After all, not everyone will want to watch a 15-minute video.

3) Record customer testimonials.

Are you in need of content for your videos? One thing you can do is record your customer’s testimonials and place them on your site. Show your website visitors that your customers are real people, and allow them to see and hear about your products firsthand.

4) Create a video blog.

If your business has a blog as part of your website, consider creating the occasional video blog instead of always publishing written content. This combination allows you to cater to both types of visitors—those who prefer to read your content and those who prefer to watch it.

5) Make a call to action.

Be sure to end every single video with a call to action. Inviting viewers to visit your website, make a phone call, or send you an email will likely generate more leads than if no contact information were placed in the first place.

6) Switch up your video hosting.

You can opt to host your video in multiple ways, such as on YouTube, Facebook, or even the company website. While posting your videos on YouTube allows you to save on bandwidth and reach a wide user base, placing videos on your website will provide your visitors with a richer content selection. It would be most advantageous to create a dynamic online presence by switching it up, and even posting your videos on a variety of mediums.

7) Maximize the power of social media.

Reach out to potential clients and customers by maximizing social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. A small business owner can especially benefit from doing so, as viewers can easily share your videos with their family members, friends, and colleagues. Of course, be careful not to overdo this, because you don’t want your viewers to become annoyed at your incessant posts.

Common Website Mistakes You Should Avoid Making

Common Website Mistakes You Should Avoid MakingThese days websites are very easy to put together. Of course, putting a simple, bare website online will not automatically translate into more customers or clients. If you want to truly make your website an effective business tool, then you have to put some serious thought into what it looks like and what it contains. When it comes to creating a website for your small business, here are some common mistakes you should avoid:

1) Not updating your content.

Remember that the reason people visit your website is because they’re searching for content. A website is used as a primary source of information for both new and old customers, and it is a must that you keep it updated if you want to drive more traffic. Find a way to engage your customers and keep them coming back for more. A simple way to do this is by adding a blog to your regular retail site and use it to post topics of interest to your audience.

2) Being careless with typos and grammatical errors.

The tiniest of spelling or grammatical errors may seem insignificant, but these mistakes can make you look unprofessional. If you can’t tell the difference between “their” and “there,” keep in mind that you may just be damaging your credibility. Have someone else proofread your website before publishing it on the World Wide Web, or use a spelling and grammar checker to look for errors.

3) Forgetting a call to action.

People are visiting your website—but now what? Don’t let them close that browser without taking some sort of action. Tell your customers what to do next! Ask them to contact you, buy something, or sign up for your mailing list. Every page should have some sort of call to action that leads your readers in the direction you’d like them to go. It might help to offer then an incentive for signing up with you like a free report or ebook.

4) Not making it user-friendly.

Your website might look nice, but is it easy for visitors to navigate? Don’t go live if your website isn’t user-friendly. Make the navigation within your website seamless! If your website visitors have a hard time finding the information they’re looking for, then they’ll likely take their business somewhere else. Keep your web design smart and simple.

5) Being unreachable.

Make it extremely easy for people to get in touch with you. List your contact numbers and email address in a location that is simple to find. Have a contact form or page so customers can easily leave you a message that goes directly into your inbox. Don’t forget to write them back!

Photo Credit: iClipart

5 Tips to Building an Online Presence for Your Small Business

5 Tips to Building an Online PresenceStudies show that approximately 80% of consumers use the World Wide Web to locate products and businesses online. These numbers give small and mid-sized businesses a reason to seriously think about getting on the Internet. Building an online presence for your small business can seem like an overwhelming and daunting task. Where do you even start? Well here are some simple tips to get started on building an online presence:

1) Make a plan.

Building an online presence becomes a lot easier if, from the start, you are able to identify what you want to achieve. Incorporate online goals in your business plan. Who is your target market online and how do you reach them? What do you want to get out of your going online? Set traffic projections and social media goals.

2) Determine your media outlets.

There are dozens of social media sites out there—but don’t feel pressured to create an account for every single media outlet online. Do some research and stick to one or two accounts. Facebook allows you to easily connect with your customers, while Twitter makes it easy to chat with customers, colleagues, and other individuals in the industry. Hold contests or giveaways on your page and customers will definitely keep their eye on you.

3) Always choose quality over quantity.

Yes, you want to establish brand recall, but that doesn’t mean you need to post a dozen messages a day. If you don’t have anything compelling or interesting to share with your followers, then don’t share it.

4) Blog.

Establish confidence and trust in your customers by incorporating a blog into your website and posting regularly. Share your expertise by writing about what you know. Increase your online business credibility by offering your readers free, useful information and tips. Take the opportunity to show your customers that you and your company are approachable, knowledgeable, and active!

5) Keep it consistent.

It may be difficult to set aside time each day to work on building your online presence, so do your best to make it a habit. Schedule a particular time each day to go online, chat with your customers and reply to their queries.

Of course, there are many more things you can do to help out. Building an online presence takes a lot of time, effort and consistency. Work hard and your determination and discipline will pay off!

Photo Credit: iClipart

5 Steps to Easily Create Your Own Kindle Books

5 Steps to Easily Create Your Own Kindle BooksAs a self employed person I find myself wearing many different hats during the course of a business day and I’m acutely aware that I’ll be entirely responsible for my own retirement when the time comes. For this reason I attempt to always spend a minimum of 20% of my time on product creation, because my ebooks, templates, apps and other products continue to make sales and earn an income even while I’m sleeping, playing with the kids or off doing all the other busy work on my list.

Kindle books are the perfect product to add to your arsenal because if you’ve been blogging for any amount of time you likely already have lots of content and you’re building a fan base, plus Kindle books are fast, easy and cheap to put together. Here are five simple steps to creating your own Kindle book:

1) Gather the Content

Write up a report on a topic you’re interested in, put together a short instructional guide, or gather some of your best blog posts to develop a short book. If you blog about recipes, sewing, crafts, family or business, pick some of your favorite recipes, posts or tutorials and combine them to create a short book on your niche.

2) Get a Free Kindle Account

To self-publish your books on the Amazon Kindle Store you’ll need a Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) account. It’s free to join and any books you publish through KDP can participate in the 70% royalty program.

3) Format Your Book

You can get lots of help and tips on formatting your Kindle book through the KDP quick guide or you can automatically convert your documents using the Kinstant Formatter for a small investment. If your book is very complex or contains lots of graphics and images then you might want to consider using an editing service.

4) Upload Your Book

Next you’ll upload the formatted book through your KDP account. You’ll also need to enter the title, the price, a short description, and the names of any contributors. To help readers find your book you’ll be asked to choose a category and to enter 5 to 7 descriptive keywords.

5) Create a Cover

Technically it’s optional to include a cover, but buyers are very visual and you’ll make more sales with an eye catching cover so you really need to have one. It doesn’t have to be fancy and you can create a simple cover yourself, or if you need help in that department you can hire a graphic designer to make your cover.

Once your Kindle book is uploaded and all ready to go, be sure to market the book to your readers and others by placing sidebar ads on your blog and sharing through all of your social media accounts. If you’d like a little more direction on how to get your book to the top of the list for your keywords at Kindle, I’d highly recommend that you check out the Page One Profits guide – you’ll learn how to quickly get your books to rank high in searches, which will result in more sales for you! The Page One Profits guide is just $27, but you can take $17 off with promo code DENISE and pay only $10 through October 17th.

Meet Lynsey Jones From Party Plan Divas

Lynsey Jones, Party Plan DivasI’m excited to be introducing a new series called Meet Successful Women here on the blog and I’m happy to start off the series with this interview with my friend Lynsey Jones from Party Plan Divas. Lynsey took her experience with party plan businesses to a whole new level when she developed courses and tools based on the processes she’d developed to make her own business successful, and made those tools available to others looking to succeed in their party plan businesses. I’m inspired by how she’s created a prosperous business out of helping others to reach their dreams and I’m proud to introduce you to her:

How long have you had your business or blog?

Since 2006 – blogging since 2008

Describe your business or blog – what do you do or blog about?

I run the largest online training community for women in Direct Sales. I have developed a time management system for how to run your business – not let your business run you! I have also developed a similar system for Bloggers and I’m working with another Top Mom Blogger to launch a training site for bloggers much like Party Plan Divas.

How did you get started with your business or blog?

After 13 years in the Party Plan Industry I kept hearing the same struggles over and over again. SO – I created a solution and began teaching it – never imagining it would become what it is today!

Do you work from home or do you have a studio, shop or office somewhere?

I have a home office.

What’s the best part of being self-employed? And the worst?

I am not a good employee, and can not STAND the idea of someone telling me what to do with my time. The best part is being able to control my own schedule. However it is also the worst part – as it takes a ton of discipline some days to work at ALL lol

What goals do you have for your business?

Many of them I have already achieved, but I would like to be a keynote speaker at a large direct sales company convention – that is my ultimate goal.

Party Plan Divas

State of the Deal Blogging Economy

State of the Deal Blogging Economy

According to Nielsen Wire there are over 181 million blogs online, up more than 400% since 2006. There is no way to break it down by topic so we can’t know what percentage of these are deal and frugal bloggers, but those numbers have increased dramatically with the combination of a tough economy and the popularity of the Extreme Couponing television show that airs on TLC.

Many of the top deal bloggers post 20 or more times a day and have thousands of loyal followers who flock to their posts so they don’t miss any of the bargains. There are also hundreds (if not thousands) of smaller blogs that post deals and coupon matchups, like my Shopper Strategy blog, who have benefited from the tremendous increase in traffic from couponers and deal hunters.

Heather from Inexpensively predicted in a Babble post that

“this year will see some changes in store policy, as both consumers and retailers cut back on coupons. I also believe we will see some of the daily deal sites folding — the market won’t be able to handle quite so many as consumer needs change.”

Now many retailers and grocery chains have begun tightening their coupon policies and there are fewer high value coupons available. Daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social are struggling with the effects of deal fatigue on their customers who are being bombarded with email offers. Traffic at my blog has dropped to about a third of normal and conversations in some of my frugal blogger groups have turned from sharing popular deals to complaining about affiliate programs that are no longer performing.

Unfortunately, once a market becomes saturated it hits the decline stage of its life cycle. At this stage those bloggers that have earned their readers loyalty may not suffer in overall profits but they will experience a decline in new readers. Other sites that may have been performing only marginally well will begin to go by the wayside as traffic becomes concentrated on a smaller number of blogs.

So what do you do when faced with a shakeup in your blogging niche? There are a number of options for those looking to stay ahead of the changes in the market. We’ve already seen several coupon bloggers merge or buy each other out and consolidating is a great way to increase profitability by reducing duplication of efforts from running more than one blog. Other bloggers have accomplished this by adding another website that focuses on a different store. Alternatively you may choose to take a different route with your blog and begin to focus on a new niche like cooking and food, crafts or product reviews.

If you’ve been blogging for any length of time then you’ve worked hard to build up a reader base, or platform for your voice. There is value in what you’ve built and you should think about ways to build or expand upon that platform. No matter what your blog topic, if you earn any sort of an income from your blog then it is a business, and every business needs to have an exit strategy. Your exit strategy may simply be to evolve, stay ahead of these decreasing traffic trends by branching out now into other areas of interest. Mindi at MomsNeedToKnow.com gives this excellent advice,

“Find your own niche and research it before you put your heart and soul in to it. Want to do “general couponing”? Guess what – there are 3000 other blogs competing with you! Want to focus on gluten-free coupon deals? There are probably only a few blogs with which you need to compete.”

For example, I took a long hard look at my blog to determine which posts are currently pulling the most traffic, which have the best returns, and which posts take most of my time. I found out that my shopping trip posts are very popular, my ‘saving strategy’ posts are evergreen, and earnings from my matchup posts have decreased along with traffic but the time to do them certainly hasn’t. I’ve responded by changing my editorial calendar from an average of 3 to 5 posts per day to a new goal of 1 to 2 posts per day. All matchups and most deal posts have been cut because I find they’re taking more time than they’re worth and there are other blogs that do a much better job with them so I don’t need to reinvent the wheel. I’m implementing these changes gradually so I don’t startle my readers and so far the traffic and rank numbers have all held steady. I’m focusing more on sponsored post opportunities instead of affiliate posts that rely on high traffic for a decent return and the blog is already more profitable and is taking less time to manage.

These small changes are working out well for me, what plans or changes do you have in mind for your blog? Remember that the blogosphere, just like any industry, is constantly changing and evolving and it’s up to you to determine what is best for your blog and for your readers’ changing needs.

Photo Credit: iClipart

How to Earn Extra Income as a Freelancer

How to Earn Extra Income as a FreelancerAre you trying to get a new business or blog off the ground? Are you trying to make the transition from having a job to owning a business? What can you do to get through a dry period while you’re waiting for your new gig to make money? Performing freelance jobs for others is a perfect way to fill in when you need extra income as you’re building your business or blog. Many people do freelance work full-time as their business, but you can take small jobs on an as needed basis to get through any tough times while growing your business.

There are several great websites like Elance, Odesk, and Witmart where you can sign up and bid on jobs that match your skills such as web programming, creative writing, data entry, sales and marketing, graphic design, tax services, customer service, research, transcription and many other types of jobs.

When you promote your services through these websites you can bid on as few or as many jobs as you would like and you may quote whatever you wish. You don’t have to work full-time or even consistently in order to be a member of these sites, and you don’t have to take any jobs you don’t want. In fact, you may just want to bid on jobs occasionally when you’re experiencing slow periods or downtime with your blog or business.

Look for jobs that will fit with your schedule and that will pay frequently or within a short timeframe to keep your cash flow going smoothly. Some projects may take a month or two and if bidding on those you’ll want to request frequent small payments, or you could look for shorter jobs that can be completed within a week or so where you’ll receive full payment when you’re done.

I recommend setting up a free account with one or two freelance websites so you can slowly build up good feedback and relationships with clients over time. The beauty of performing services through a freelance website is that you can find paying customers rather quickly for an infusion of cash whenever needed so you can focus on building your blog or business without worrying about how to pay the bills.

Photo Credit: iClipart

How To Monetize Your Blog and Earn Passive Income Using E-Commerce

Having been a work at home graphic designer for 6 years now I’ve learned a thing or two about how to earn passive income. While it’s true you can earn ad revenue from your blog you could also monetize your blog and earn passive income with e-commerce. With the right product and a bit of strategic marketing your blog could be earning you a steady stream of consistent income while you are off doing other things.

With the recent surge in e-commerce plugins it is now possible to set up a simple yet effective e-commerce solution right from within WordPress. I have run e-commerce stores using complicated and sometimes frustrating software solutions such as X-Cart and Zen Cart. X-Cart while a very robust system does not come out of the box with many of the features i’d need to run an e-commerce and has cost me into the thousands to modify. Zen Cart while free was just way too difficult to navigate on the back end for my needs.

Looking to start a new dot com and in the need of a quick e-commerce solution I decided to opt for WordPress. In earlier days if we wanted to sell from our blogs we could add a PayPal button to a page. While that is still an option your needs will most likely be greater than that. Now it is completely possible to set up a full e-commerce store by simply installing a plugin. Previously scarce the options for WordPress e-commerce solutions are now plentiful. Here are some of my top picks.

E-Commerce Plugins For Word Press

WooCommerce –  WooCommerce would be my first choice in plugins. Though I orignally test drove WooCommerce and found it to perfect in most every respect I ultimately did not choose it. I needed the option to assign multiple files to a single product and at the time this was not possible with WooCommerce. However I just got word yesterday that upon their next rollout they will be releasing the next upgrade with that feature. When that happens I fully intend to switch over.

JigoShop –  My next choice and current e-commerce solution, Jigoshop was actually born off of the WooCommerce platform. Many of the features are the same on the admin side but WooCommerce seems to be a bit more stylish. Jigoshop does allow the sale of downloadable goods and is even toying with the idea of allowing multiple files per product. I in fact am beta testing their version of multilple files per download and seemingly it works pretty well. They have just released their latest upgrade and surprisingly this feature was not implemented. Not sure why that is or when it will be added but here’s keeping my fingers crossed for that.

E-Junkie –  E-Junkie is a subscription based service. Monthly fees are based on how many products you have and/or how much storage space you need. E-Junkie allows the sale of digital files and gives you the option to host the files on your server or theirs.

PayPal –  PayPal has evolved and offers options for adding buttons to your blog for accepting payments. The benefit of using paypal is that they are highly recognizable and well trusted. You can accept credit cards without having to go through the hassle of setting up an account with the credit card companies. To use this feature you will need a business account with Paypal.

If you don’t happen to have any products readily available or are unsure as to what you could even sell here are some ideas. I made certain to list plugins that allow the sale of downloadable goods because that is the truest way to really make passive income.

Here are some of the top E-Goods that may be lucrative for your blog:

  • E-Books
  • Software
  • Music Files
  • Digital Art
  • Website Templates

If you don’t have any of these products to sell you may want to consider partnering with or becoming an affiliate for someone who does. Of course you could always sell any of your own products be they digital or even physical if you desire. Another option to consider is drop shipping. This allows you to offer a variety of tangible goods on your website but all of the shipping and product handling is done by a third party company.

Naturally the key to keeping this truly passive is to opt for as little effort as possible. The products I’ve mentioned require no maintenance or upkeep and there is no shipping involved. Your greatest effort will be in setting up the initial product in the store. Once that’s done you are free to sit back and let the passive income flow.

How To Monetize Your Blog and Earn Passive Income Using E-Commerce:

Here’s how to get started.

  1. Install a WordPress blog to your website.
  2. Select the right e-commerce plugin for you and install it.
  3. Choose a payment gateway, this is essential for getting paid! Sign up for a service and then enter your user information in the designated area of your plugin. Popular gateways include, PayPal, 2Checkout, Google Checkout and a wide variety of other services.
  4. Choose your product.
  5. Brand, package and upload your product to add it to your store. You will be able to do this through your WordPress plugin or you may need to use FTP depending on the file size.
  6. Add product to your store. Typically this is just like adding a post depending on the solution you choose. Be sure to assign the file for download or the customer will have nothing to download.
  7. Check and recheck! Be sure to check all product descriptions for accuracy. Doe the product image match the product description? Does the description text accurately portray what is being sold? Log in as a guest and purchase the products. Even have a friend do this as well. Did the payment process correctly? Were the files delivered properly? Ask your friend how the process went for them. Test your store on different browsers. Be sure everything is running smoothly before you open your doors to the public.

Though getting your e-commerce store set up can be simple, and maintenance will be minimal be aware there will be some maintenance.

  • Customer Support: For obvious reasons most downloadable goods come with a no return policy. But you will still need to offer customer support if you want repeat business and referrals. Be sure you or someone qualified is available to answer any customer inquiries or concerns.
  • Website Maintenance: Keep your website up to date! Pay attention to update alerts and keep all versions of your blog and e-commerce plugin up to date. Failing to do so can cause great security risks!
  • Marketing:  Plan a strategy for getting the word out. You’ll want to have some type of promotion in place to let visitors know about you and your awesome product. Take some time to promote your site and your product. Doing so will reap great rewards.

Follow these guidelines and you’ll be raking in the passive income with your blog.

Author Bio:

Veronica Spriggs is a full time graphic designer working from home creating photographer album templates. She is also an amateur photographer always looking for the perfect shot. She has a love of art, music, movies, food and all things beautiful. She enjoys educating others and offers many helpful photographer tutorials on her blog.