All the free apps you need to optimize your digital marketing
In the early days of the iPhone, we heard the catchphrase, “There’s an app for that,” every time we turned around. Today, the apps are even better, and armed with the collection I present here, you can accomplish virtually anything required to achieve digital marketing success. I’ve tried to limit this to apps and services that have free versions, although the free versions may be very limited. The main exceptions to this are the website builders and e-commerce applications; with them, there is usually “no such thing as a free lunch.” Websites, WordPress sites, and e-commerce plugins Your website host should be able to install WordPress for you at no charge. Then it’s up to you to find a theme you like. There are many free as well as paid themes. With about a quarter of all websites being powered by WordPress, there are a variety of plugins available to add shopping to your site. Among the most popular are: WooCommerce WP e-Commerce Jigoshop Cart66 Head over to the WordPress e-commerce plugin directory for user ratings and additional options. Website and eCommerce packages There are also many non-WordPress website design and e-commerce routes you can take. These vary from DIY website design platforms to software integrations you can use with your existing or future website. Weebly. If you’re okay with your business being a subdomain of Weebly (yourbusinessname.weebly.com) you can get going for free at Weebly. Paid plans range from $8 to $25 per month. E-commerce integration is available. Wix. For Wix pricing, the most basic (read inexpensive) service costs $5 per month and connects to your domain name. You’ll get Wix ads at the $5 level. For e-commerce, the entry-level per month charge is $17. Squarespace. When you pay for a year in advance, standard websites on Squarespace are either $12 or $18 per month and e-commerce sites are $24 or $40 per month. Shopify. This is one of the more popular shopping cart/storefront services. Plans range from $14-$179 a month. Bigcommerce. Thousands of sellers use this software package. Plans go from $35-$200 a month. Volusion. Plans start at $15 a month and go up to $135 per month. Content Marketing There are at least two major stumbling blocks small business owners have with content marketing: Writing and ideation. The following apps and online services will help you in both areas. Content creation Grammarly (grammar checker) comes in free and paid editions. I’ve only used the free version. I like it because it spans all the places where you’re likely to write something your prospects will see. It even warns you about problems in your Facebook updates. Hemmingway app. In honor of the KISS maxim – Keep it simple stupid! – and with a bow to Ernest Hemmingway’s clean, terse use of the English language, this word processing app is like a hair straightener: it will help you take out all the kinks and get you straight to the point. Title and idea generators These online services suggest eye-catching headlines. They can also be used to inspire ideas: Sumome The Best Title Generator Portent Tweakyourbiz Hubspot And if you want to see how good your original headlines are: Co-Schedule’s Headline Analyzer. Is your headline a winner or a loser. Get your score here. Another great ideas source: Buzzsumo. This website will allow you to...
read moreUnderstand and leverage the Holy Trinity of Online Marketing
In Christianity, the Holy Trinity is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Cajun cooking the Holy Trinity is onion, celery, and green bell pepper. In Internet marketing, the Holy Trinity is SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing. When these three elements are mixed together in the right proportions, the result is a delicious dish that will keep visitors coming back to your website for more servings! Let’s look at how this works. I’ll start with the different elements in this trinity and give you examples illustrating how they promote or amplify each other. SEO. Search engine optimization comes in two flavors: on page and off page. Off-page SEO includes items like the number of backlinks to your site. When you have more quality backlinks, your site ranks higher in search results. That causes more people to come to your site, where they will discover your content marketing. They may like it so much that they share the content in their social media and perhaps even start to follow one or more of your social media accounts. SEO causes people to discover content and the content encourages social media sharing and following. Content marketing. Here we’re talking about the creation of blogs, videos, podcasts, and infographics. When these are used as website content they reach out and boost your SEO and social media marketing campaigns. They help SEO because you build content around your keywords – and the search engines discover that. You also work to create content that other sites will want to link to, and this results in the all-important backlinks. This content also gives you things to promote via your social media, so it keeps your followers engaged, informed, and interested. Social media marketing. In the last paragraph, I described how your content “feeds” your social media posts. The other side of that coin is that your social media posts “drive” visitors to your content. It’s the perfect symbiotic relationship. (Remember your high school biology?) Social media marketing will, in general, create interest in your small business website and that creates traffic. Traffic and the resultant visitor engagement lifts the status of your website in search engine rankings. Also, more visitors will result in more sharing of your content, which encourages backlinks…and we know how important they are for SEO. The lesson here is that you can’t focus on one of these and let the others fall to the wayside. They are dependent on each other. For example, I’ve seen some small business owners get “sold” on SEO by a developer or supposed SEO guru and think that SEO will be the magic formula for incredible website traffic – sometimes even falling for “black hat SEO” strategies that will ultimately backfire. Other website owners open three social media accounts and think that’s all it takes. It just doesn’t work that way. Success comes in the long term with a consistent program that coordinates SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing....
read more10 businesses you can start for $1,000 or less
Mighty oaks from little acorns grow. – Traditional English proverb. I’m willing to wager that many of you reading this have a regular routine of stopping by your favorite local barista each day to pick up a flavorful coffee drink. If that’s you, according to one estimate I saw recently, you’re spending some $800 a year to support your habit. So, finding $1,000 to start a business shouldn’t be a major hurdle for many of us. However, what are the best businesses to start for $1,000? That’s probably the most important question. You may want your $1,000 business to be a part-time endeavor at first, and in today’s lingo, that’s being called a “side hustle,” or you may want to go “all in” and work hard to turn your $1,000 investment into an income that can fully support your lifestyle. In any case, here are today’s top picks in businesses you can start for $1,000. Event or wedding planner. This can be a high-stress business, but if you like a challenge, it has a lot of potential for growth. Further, many people can start out by planning events or weddings for friends and families. If you’re good, word-of-mouth advertising will spur growth. Assistant. There are a variety of “assistant” businesses today, including personal assistant, personal shopper, and virtual assistant. Where you live, your contacts, your talents, and your level of online smarts, would tend to push you in one direction or another. For example, if you live in an affluent area, you might find one or two individuals looking for a full or part-time personal assistant. If you have a talent for shopping, that would send you in another direction. In-home sales. There are a variety of franchises or direct sales opportunities available for $1,000 or less. These often involve sales similar to the classic Tupperware home sales model. If you’re outgoing and not afraid to work hard, you can be successful with one of these kinds of businesses. Holly Reisem Hanna reviewed some of the best products to sell from home in this article over at “The Work at Home Woman.” Personal trainer. I don’t see our interest in fitness waning anytime soon, so if you’ve acquired some skills and knowledge, consider starting your own personal training business. Think about an angle that would differentiate yourself from other trainers and give you a more clearly defined niche you could market to. Chef or caterer. Do people rave about your cooking? If they do, then maybe it’s time to take your talents to the marketplace as either a personal chef or a professional caterer. If you prefer catering, start with a small menu of the items you do best; don’t try to do too much too soon. Coach. We are big consumers of personal and professional improvement and the market is growing even more. With some knowledge, experience, and training (and marketing) you could be a life coach, career coach, or a “daily money manager.” Makeup artist. This is a natural side hustle for employed hairdressers, but it’s certainly not limited to that group. I know some women who make good money helping women at night clubs keep their makeup and hair looking their best! Tutor. The demand for tutors is very high. Parents of children struggling in school...
read moreLooking for a new entrepreneur network? Here are 10 to explore
For the new entrepreneur, networking is as important as being armed with the latest and greatest apps and SaaS. You can think of your new entrepreneur network as the oil that makes your startup machine run smoothly. Without this networking oil, there’s a good chance that friction will wear you and your team down very quickly. StartupGrind. In many ways, this is the most “networky” of the networks. Like-minded leaders of startups meet over coffee in some 200 cities around the world. Check for a chapter near you, and if you don’t find one, start one. The group also holds a yearly global conference. Entrepreneurs’ Organization. This membership (12,000 and counting) group has 160 chapters spread out over 50 countries. It holds chapter events, facilitates mentorship connections, offers learning programs, and more. However, it’s not for everyone: “Members of EO must be the owner, founder or majority stakeholder of a business earning a minimum of US$1 million in the most recent fiscal year. Venture-backed companies must have either privately-raised funds of at least US$2 million or publicly-raised funds of US$5 million, and a minimum of 10 employees.” The Entrepreneurs’ Club. This is not a membership organization. TEC holds events around the world that feature some of the biggest names in entrepreneurship. Attend one of its events and you’ll be rewarded with opportunities to do some serious networking. PartnerUp. This used to be a “stand-alone” organization, but that has folded and given way to a Google+ community. Explore the community and you’ll find individuals looking for partners, funding, and other essentials for the growth and establishment of a new enterprise. StartupNation. This is basically a no-frills social media and content platform. You will find some good information and conversations on its community forum. I think the “Like-Minded People” topic is excellent, featuring groups such as “Homepreneurs” and “Boomers Back in Business.” YPO. This moves away from the idea of a new entrepreneur network a bit, but it’s worth mentioning. YPO members must employ at least 50 regular full-time employees or have at least 15 or more employees with a payroll above $2 million. You also need to be youngish – under 45 years old. The group is dedicated to lifelong learning and the exchange of ideas. USASBE. The mission of The United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship is “to provide the network to advance knowledge and foster business development through entrepreneurship education and research.” It holds one major yearly event and have various teaching resources (including certificate programs) available for members. Membership is open to everyone. There are a variety of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) that you can leverage for networking. VISTAGE. If you’re the CEO of a company, this membership group could be for you. It facilitates groups to provide training and coaching with the goal of helping innovative executives “solve difficult challenges, evaluate opportunities, and develop effective strategies for better professional and business performance.” FoundersCard. Networking and “member benefits” are the focus here. Like the name says, a major part of this is the “card” – an upscale charge card that offers some fairly competitive travel and shopping benefits. On the networking side, they schedule frequent events in the United States and abroad. YEC. To qualify for membership, you need to be a founder or owner...
read moreLessons from the Trump campaign you can use in your business today
Whether you voted for him or were adamantly opposed to him, you probably agree that Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency – starting in the early days of the primaries – was unorthodox and its success unexpected. The level of shock and surprise among the political “experts” peaked on election night when he notched an overwhelming electoral-vote victory. Only now are we beginning to understand how he seemingly pulled this political rabbit from his hat, and the man behind the magic turns out to be his son-in-law, Jared Kushner (Ivanka’s husband). Kushner, much like his father-in-law, is a successful real estate developer and entrepreneur. But, unlike President-elect Trump, he maintains a very low public profile and grants almost no interviews. However, he talked to Forbes recently and as I read the article, I realized that the way he ran Trump’s campaign is a model for entrepreneurs and small business owners who are serious about achieving success. Kushner understands the attitude, aptitude, and optimizations required in a competitive environment where money and speed must be maximized. He brings it all together in one statement: “We weren’t afraid to make changes. We weren’t afraid to fail. We tried to do things very cheaply, very quickly. And if it wasn’t working, we would kill it quickly. It meant making quick decisions, fixing things that were broken, and scaling things that worked.” There it is. Do these things and you improve your chance at success 10 fold. Let’ list them: Don’t be afraid of change. Don’t fear failure. Conduct a wide variety of inexpensive experiments. Leave your failures behind, quickly. Scale up your successes, quickly. Find and fix things that break. There are a certain boldness and unsentimentality to this. I think it’s part of human nature to want to hold onto our pet ideas and that attitude will cause entrepreneurs and small business owners to stick with an unsuccessful strategy too long. If you want shocking success, ala the Trump campaign, you need to immediately move on when something isn’t working. Further, you need to scale up what works – even when it’s not your idea originally. We know these ideas work in business and now we know that they work in political campaigns. The big question in front of the nation today is whether or not they will work in the federal government. We’ll just have to wait and...
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