Ok, so apparently email seems to have fallen out of favor. Or is it really?

Mckinsey’s survey has more in store: Email accounts for a huge share of acquired customers compared to social media (about 40 times compared to Facebook and Twitter combined).  91% of all consumers still use email, and hence it’s still a marketer’s primary communication mode.  Email conversions boast of order values, which are at least 17% higher than email.

According to Copyblogger’s report on Email marketing, emails are mind-blowingly cost effective with a return of about 4,300% (that’s not a typo) as Direct Marketing Association puts it. Smart marketers thrive on email. In spite of the new trends and dashing new hopes elsewhere, email is till the staple. It allows for continuous and dedicated engagement with customers compared to any other medium.

But the only way email works is when there’s actual value exchange. It only works when you keep your emails succinct, to the point, relevant to your audience, and tell stories that they’d like to listen to.

Launch drip email campaigns. Go for both the HTML version and the plain-text version. Ensure that you are sending out valuable information 9 out of 10 times. According to Exact target, there are more than 3.2 billion email accounts and 91% of consumers are reportedly checking their email at least once a day.

If you do email marketing right, you’d stand to gain at least $44.25 out of every $1 spent on email marketing. Most leading brands (and small businesses) use email marketing for retention (about 78%).   While you are at it, give attention to increasing mobile use. According to Litmus, more than 66% of all Gmail opens, for instance, occur on mobile devices.

The good news is that email still works. Another piece of good news is that outside of email, social media is where most of your target audience spends time.

It’s time to start building your list using social media:

Social media is the destination. But what’s in store for customers?

Opt-in forms are the windows for the start of your relationship with your subscribers. Relationships, however, don’t start just because you showed up with an opt-in form. They’d only start when you have something valuable to offer.

Since your social media accounts are an additional (and new) destination for wooing new visitors to sign up to your list, your social accounts should have value. The way you do that is through a continuous supply of updates that are helpful, relevant, and engaging. Go back to social media 101, and spend a huge chunk of time perfecting your social media strategy.

The Opt-in forms have moved

Traditionally, most marketers use the sidebars of blogs, evil pop-ups on web pages, and other hot virtual real estate to host opt-in forms to allow new subscribers to sign up for newsletters or email campaigns. This usually forms the beginning of the relationship with your email subscribers. Websites, blogs, and contact forms are all boring, though. It’s not your website that your target audience usually spends time at; it’s social media.

It’s time to take your opt-in forms (slim, miniature opt-in forms or full-sized, dedicated landing pages with a separate link) to social media. You can use LinkedIn’s profile features with a permanent widget for others to sign up with. Go to Facebook and create a dedicated tab allocated for email signups. Occasionally, tweet your dedicated opt-in form to bring in subscribers.

All traffic goes to landing pages

First things first, go back to each of your social media profiles such as Facebook pages, Twitter bio, and LinkedIn company pages (or your professional account) and do this: change the URL of your main website from http://www.yourcompany.com to http://www.yourcompany.com/landingpage

Why would you do that? Your home page is just too much for visitors to handle. There are way too many exit points, navigational elements, copy, distractions, and avenues for your online visitors to drift. By forcing traffic to land on a landing page, you’d make it simple and easy for visitors to take action. Either they’d subscribe to your newsletter or they won’t. Of course, the way you’d design your landing page, you’d give your visitors or customers enough reasons to signup to your list (give away a free trial, a free report, a sample product, or a no-restriction access to your web-based app).

Work with tools such as Unbounce.com or Lander App and experiment with various landing pages with varying copy, graphic elements, and CTA (calls to action) to see which pages work better. Also, known as A/B testing, this is your best ticket to build marketing assets that’d work for you every time.

From paid ads to loving subscribers

If you are already running ad campaigns across various channels such as Google Adwords, Bing Ad Center, or even the new social media paid ads, create a dedicated set of campaigns just to push traffic to the landing pages that are designed to attract signups for your list (yes, building a list is that important). As it goes for all other cases of marketing, your paid ads would lead to a landing page (while the message and intent should match) and all this paid traffic should convert through your landing pages to turn into your doting subscribers.

If you don’t put up landing pages for your paid advertisements, you’d only lose marketing dollars. You’d basically dump your marketing budget for nothing, and with no results to show. While our focus here is to use social media sponsored updates and ads to drive traffic to your landing pages designed to help visitors convert to email subscribers, the rules apply to any kind of paid (or unpaid) advertising.

Conversations to conversions

Just as you’d change all your URL instances online to actual landing pages instead of your home page, your account profiles at online forums and other communities should also point to landing pages. Meanwhile, you can also change the signature links within forums to these specific URLs. As you go along with conversations on communities relevant to your business, drop your link asking others to subscribe (beware of community policies and rules, though).

As you leave your digital footprint across online communities, groups, and Q & A sites on topics that you are associated with, you’d build your credibility and trust. Your account URLs or signature links, meanwhile, point to your email sign-up page or opt-in page.

If you have to work on a parallel campaign (unpaid and effort-based) just to get traffic to your opt-in forms, do so.

Use apps and tools

Tons of applications and tools make it easier to help you ramp up your list building efforts. If you were using a CMS such as WordPress, you’d have plenty of plugins and widgets that’d help you create special opt-in forms and pop-ups to help you attract subscribers. Some of those popular tools are OptinMonster, Alligator Pop-up, Mailchimp Plugin for WordPress, and others.

If you were running an ecommerce store on Shopify.com, you’d have access to plenty of Small business tools specifically built for email marketing. Here’s a Shopify discount code for you to save!

For most other cases, the email service you’d be using such as Mail Chimp, AWeber, Constant Contact, Send Grid, Campaign Monitor, and Exact Target will all have their own in-built tools to help you build, manage, and work with your list of subscribers.

How are you building your list of subscribers? Do you use social media to specifically build up your database of subscribers?

According to Sales For Life, companies with consistent social selling processes are 40% more likely to hit revenue goals than non-social sellers. The same study revealed that B2B sellers who embrace social selling are 72% more likely to exceed quotas than those who don’t.

While the chance to succeed is there, most brands still struggle with making money on social media.

This post will explore four ways of boosting social sales.

Ready?

Let’s get started.

#1. Build a Solid Social Media Funnel

Sadly, many companies use the spray-and-pray approach on social media.

They just plow ahead without a strategy and hope for the best. Whatever sales they make are random chance sales that don’t bring in consistent revenue.

How can you overcome this?

Easy.

Build a proper social media conversion funnel that’s fully integrated into your overall marketing strategy.

Here are key factors to consider:

• Channels- discover your target audiences’ favorite channels and follow them there.
• Content- research and experiment on the right content mix and frequency required for you to gain traction on the channels.
• Messaging- make sure your message is consistent across channels and platforms.
• Tactics- find the right balance between paid and free tactics.
• Testing- test everything, analyze, tweak and redeploy until you’re happy with the results.

You can build your sales funnel using this WordPress form builder that makes it incredibly easy. There’s also a great business name generator for you to build your sales funnel on your own site.

Building a social media sales funnel is the single biggest action you can take to generate more income on social media. Neil Patel made $332,640 in 3 months from Instagram by building a funnel based on influencer marketing.

Also, according to Megaphone Marketing, ad creatives can make or break your social media campaigns.

#2. Give Your Customers the Stage

Giving the stage to your customers so they share their experiences with your brand can boost sales.

Encourage customers to share rave reviews about your product. Get them to post pics of themselves using your product or service. Circle back and use that content in your marketing.

It’s technical name — User-generated Content (UGC). It works like gangbusters.

According to Business Insider, shoppers that interact with UGC are 97% more likely to convert with a retailer than customers who do not. Plus, revenue per visitor for retailers increases 106% when customers interact with UGC versus those that don’t.

Luxy Hair used the Shopify POS to roll out an Instagram app that allows customers to share before and after pictures on Instagram using a branded hashtag. They reposted the photos on their own account. Uaw this Shopify discount code to build something similar.

Source: Shopify

This sort of content is authentic and resonates with the audience. It makes them more likely to buy. Plus, customers love to see themselves trending and so won’t stop talking about your brand.

#3. Provide Stellar Customer Support

Because acquiring a new customer is tough, marketers know that repeat business is the best business.

What makes customers come back for more?

One word. Support.

Timely, sensitive, and creative support available 24/7.

According to Sprout Social being responsive on social media is the number one reason that prompts customers to buy.

Source: Sprout Social

More and more brands now have dedicated customer service social accounts. Online food ordering company, Seamless for instance, has a superb customer support team.

A customer once vented on Twitter how his order was mixed up. He wasn’t complaining outright. He was just expressing his disappointment. The company’s support team promptly responded and asked for the order number so they could check it out. As a result, the customer was elated.

Source: Buffer

Since happy customers buy more this goes a long way in boosting sales.

#4. Make Buying On Social Channels Stupid Easy

Social media is crazy-busy.

Streams are clogged with an unending torrent of content vying for users’ attention. Anything that remotely looks complicated or makes people work will be ignored.

Create social commerce experience that is fast, easy and impulse-shopping-friendly. Make buying from you super easy for customers. Shrink the buying process to its bare essentials — then people can make quick purchases within their favorite social networks themselves without going through an elaborate process on the company website.

Flyaway Bluejay used Pinterest buyable pins to make buying a one-click breeze. Here are the results.

  Source: Pinterest

The simplicity of Buyable Pins increased sales by 20% overall in all product categories. Plus, sales for their traditionally strong sellers increased steadily as well.

Go Make Some Money on Social

Money’s there to be made through social media.

Use these tips to get in on the act.

• Build a strong funnel.
• Take advantage of UGC.
• Provide five-star customer support.
• Make buying very easy.

If you pick the right techniques that fit your brand’s context and execute them well you will be the next social selling success story.

Every project is going to have a different level of potential. The success of a website depends largely on the size of the audience, the amount of competition, the resources available (both monetary and resources that stem from the resourcefulness of the staff), and other external factors (I once had a friend have their roller derby website explode in popularity after a nationally televised roller derby league launched).  All things considered, Social Media Sun has done fairly well.

You can do just as well with your blog or website. Your goals shouldn’t necessarily be tied to numbers like page views and Facebook likes, but instead to steady growth. As long as everything is improving, you’re still doing something right. When growth slows down or comes to an abrupt stop, it’s easy to lose your motivation.

How Did I Make it Successful?

2012 wasn’t the best time to start a blog focused on social media or inbound marketing. The Internet is already saturated with blogs on these topics, and the overall audience for this niche has been decreasing steadily since last summer.

I’ve always maintained a small personal webmaster blog, however, developing the site was something I was interested in.

Our audience and reputation grew quickly at first because I found answers to common problems that other fresh blogs couldn’t. Social Media Sun was given a Page Rank of 4 in less than 2 months because one of the first things I did was launch an application that built our backlinks at a tremendous pace.

I had some help from a few friends who were already well known in online marketing circles, and I maximized three sources of social media actions that few people adequately combine. As everything progressed and we continued posting new content, it proved to be a viable strategy that promised growth.

There Are Compromises

One of the things that I knew was important for any website entering a crowded blogosphere was quality. Quality in the writing, quality in the design, and quality when it came to the people involved.

I spent two weeks choosing a domain name and adjusting the design and customizing our theme until I thought it impressed me. With all of the graphics and CSS involved, I had to sacrifice load time to accommodate design features.

I also made the initial mistake of accepting guest posts from contributors who wanted little more than a backlink. As long as their posts were above average and they conformed to our identity verification processes, I would usually accept their posts.

A Perfect Storm

Now, eight months after we launched the site, several of these decisions have come back to haunt me. The application that had the added benefit of generating backlinks, the compromise when it came to load speed, and the links we’ve given to guests that are engaged in getting most of their backlinks through guest posting websites have combined to stop our progress in search engine referral growth.

Combined with a recent drop in referral traffic from social channels, even with decent social sharing numbers, the growth strategy that once worked so well doesn’t seem as promising anymore.

While our traffic was taking a hit, our commenting system developed some problems that hurt engagement and cost me several hours last week that would have usually been dedicated to working on other aspects of the website. I didn’t put all our eggs in one basket, but all our baskets were hit at one time.

If I would have quit every time we suffered a drop in traffic, I would have quit several times this year. The longer your graph is and the more time it represents, the more valid it is when determining your success. These weekly fluctuations could be due to demographic Internet use, weather, and any number of external forces.

If I could sum up everything I know about promoting websites on the Internet into a short statement, it would be to find out what works, do it as long as you’re seeing results, and experiment with other strategies if it ever quits working for you. There will be bumps in the road, and things are always hardest when you’ve been weakened by stress. The important thing is to reflect on your assets and strategy, clean house, and come back harder than before.

You Never Know Unless You Try

Building a blog correctly from scratch is much easier than re-formatting an existing blog to mitigate problems. I still feel like we’re doing well because there are lots of compliments from people on social networks, we have a close-knit community around the site, and most metrics still indicate that we’re above average.

I don’t think we’re meeting our full potential, though. The on-site comments have waned recently and I haven’t had the time to create the type of content that I want to produce.

Over the coming weeks, I’m going to institute a new strategy that combines tactics that are still paying dividends with new styles of writing, new subjects, new guests, new features, and focused goals that both the staff and readers will be aware of. If I can’t breathe life back into this website, I probably shouldn’t be teaching you how to breathe life into yours.

At the end of the day, promoting things on the Internet and optimizing websites for business is what I’m good at. I welcome the opportunity to address questions on my own website and hope I can use any success I have in pointing the gun back at the target as a lesson for our readers. Some of my strategies will surprise you; sometimes you need to concentrate on other things to get answers to the problem at hand.

I hope that you all stay tuned to see what is in store for SMS and take these words to heart; make a plan and follow it as long as it’s working. Experiment all the while, and find a way around if your current road is blocked. Turning around is easier than you think because you’ve really just started your journey – moving forward, however, will afford you the chance to cover hundreds of miles and end at a destination other than the beginning.

Making it flexible, using sketch pads, avoiding trends, considering shapes and getting the right feedback are some of the things to consider.

How to Make Your Company Brand Logo Stand Out?

When your organization is facing threats from competitive forces,  creating an impressive brand symbol can give you the edge it takes to make it into the hearts and minds of consumers.

It is ultimately a trademark of your business that will help in distinguishing your products or services from rivals, and elicit subconscious associations not only from the logo itself, but every facet of design that can be associated with your brand. It is for this reason that careful planning and forethought are necessary for creating a company brand logo.

Make The Emblem More Flexible 

Most designers begin by focusing on colors first. This is an incorrect approach as far as designing is concerned. Colors can be taken care of during the later stages.

No matter what shades you include, if the design is deficient, no color can mend an unprofessionally created trademark.

The symbol should look impressive in all the media, be it billboards, postal stamps or a pen. The logo has to be flexible so that it looks great in all forms.

Begin the design process by setting your palette to neutral colors, and making the first draft of your logo in black and white. Added flexibility will give you more opportunities to integrate your brand’s logo into the work you do, as well as marketing materials. The Apple on the back of every MacBook is iconic, but it wouldn’t look right if the logo lacked flexibility.

Sketch First, Decide Later

You will be surprised to learn that most designers pay little or no attention to sketch pads. Creative ideas will flow much better between the tip of a pencil and a piece of paper than between a PC and the mouse.

I am not saying that using computers is not important, but that can be done in the later stages of designing. With paper and pen, do whatever that you feel like doing – scribble, create rough diagrams, doodle, or simply jot down points that are related to the business you are designing for.

If you are a true professional, you will understand the benefits of sketching in creating a brand symbol. The most talented professionals are the ones who can translate techniques used in hand drawing to Photoshop. Gradients, construction techniques and perspective have been around far longer than computers. If you really want to be known as an innovative graphic artist, put in the time and effort to learn how to draw on paper.

Say A Stern ‘No’ to Trends

The key to a successful business image is the longevity of the trademark, i.e., how well it will pass the test of time. If you are really passionate about logos and want to make a mark, you should avoid integrating voguish elements in the trademark.

Avoid trends such as the swoosh and the ‘web 2.0 reflection’ since the company insignia has to keep delighting your audience for years. Stand out by being unique, original, and innovative. I would suggest using classical elements before using a trendy technique that will dull quickly.

Take A Look at The Shapes

Shapes play a crucial role in communicating a message to the audience. For example, sharp corners vs. rounded corners signifies the difference between passive and hard-hitting messages. If you are working for a gaming company, then the use of smooth round shapes won’t be appropriate. That’s because gaming involves a lot of excitement and action.

Similarly, if you are working on an education project, then funky shapes should be avoided. Again for a cartoon channel, pick out something that is funny and casual, and not something too somber. Consider your audience; do they expect a classical design or a more modern feel?

Meaningful Feedback

When brainstorming, ensure that you get suggestions and feedback from people who have been involved in the entire process. It’s no use expecting ideas from a layman who knows next to nothing about brand marks. If you wish to get specific information, then be wise to ask specific questions.

A question like, “Does the logo aptly represent the industry?” is better than something too vague like, “Is the logo beautiful?” If everything goes as planned, your logo could adorn your company’s products for decades to come. If a designer’s personal taste is reflected heavily in his work, your logo could be a cautionary tale for other businesses that are looking to draft their own new logos.

White Space Has Substance

When you are designing graphic art, it’s easy to concentrate on the positive spaces you are creating with your tool. The truth is, the areas of your canvas that you never touch are where the art really is.

The blank areas that are part of your logo provide a reference for clarity, simplicity, and weight. Insufficient white space can make type look cheap, crowded, and even, in some cases, unreadable. Pay close attention to what you haven’t drawn; that’s a trade secret that most artists never elaborate on.

You can also use online tools to ideate and conceptualize. One option is Canva discount promo, which will make your life much easier.

Does your company’s logo seem lacking? When you consider these techniques, do you feel that the original designer may have overlooked some or all of these tips? Let us know in the comments below.

If you do not hype your product enough, you aren’t going to generate the required enthusiasm to reach the critical mass to make your venture profitable. Over hype your product, and the preliminary buyers will be so disenchanted with their purchase that the whole story will become ‘it didn’t meet my expectations’.

Even if your product is above average or proficient, expectations should be set at a level you can meet (if Facebook stock had hit the market at 29$, it could have easily stayed above that level). It’s a mind game that you play with yourself, the population as a whole, and finally, a roll of the dice when you make your work available to the public and put the results in the hands of the masses.

Give Yourself the Best Chance Possible

Start by getting a domain name that clearly represents your selling points.

You need to have a clear idea of what your sales cycle looks like. Technology is closer to selling a car than it is to selling a candy bar.

The overall value of your product will determine how much negative press you can shoulder. Both Facebook and Google remain industry leaders even after repeated violations of user privacy and charges of questionable value. Both networks have viable competitors, but both also offer superior value to users.

A popular addition to the product cycle that addresses value vs. expectation is Beta testing. In beta testing users agree to help developers refine and polish a piece of software before it is released to the public. Users are conditioned to lower their expectations with the knowledge that the beta release will not measure up to the final product. This process allows developers to gauge perceived value and work to adjust expectations accordingly.

You can guard yourself against over hyping a product by being smart in your marketing prior to beta testing. When the proprietor makes outstanding claims, they lose much of their credibility if the product doesn’t meet high expectations.

In most beta testing scenarios, the early adopters that are selected for testing are more knowledgeable than average users as it pertains to the technology. They’re often more self-reliant, so problems that arise will be less of a burden on the development team. Even if experienced users cannot fix or bypass a problem, they will be able to explain the problem to support staff much easier, and are less likely to let it heavily weigh on their assessment.

Inform Customer Expectations with a Clear Explanation

I can remember developing off base expectations when I was a kid, only to find out that the product or subject wasn’t at all like I had imagined. Everything from Disney World to deep-fried ice cream; nothing ever met my expectations. It wasn’t necessarily falling short of my expectations, just that my preconceived notions were sometimes fanciful and ignorant. It was something I noticed as a child, but it isn’t a feeling I have as an adult.

When acquaintances launch new projects, they often do a poor job in their literature pertaining to what a product does or how it works. It takes a special kind of writing to convey something new to users of every experience level, so take your time and make sure you have the best literature possible before putting anything online.

Understanding the Psychology of Expectation

Dr. Martin Fishbein took expectations a step further in the 1970s. Dr. Fishbein’s theories stated that when making a decision, people relied on the given information to form a belief. Individuals will assign value to each component piece of information that their belief is based on, and expectancy is a calculation that results from the different values placed on each subject.

An example he used was students on the first day of school. Let’s say that your child is preparing to meet two teachers on the first day of school, and one is said to be humorous, but the others is said to be average. The student will develop a positive expectation if they ascribe a positive value to humor. If on the first day of school the student finds that the teacher that is supposed to be humorous is actually average, he will be predisposed to have a negative perception of that teacher, but will wait for further indications before forming an opinion of the teacher that was said to be average. Dr. Fishbein believed that one could accurately calculate the “attitude” of an individual by creating complex equations that assign positive and negative values to beliefs.

The three component parts to Dr. Fishbein’s theory are:

• 1. The Belief that your form in response to all the information you receive about a product before actualization.

• 2. The Value that you place on each pre conceived belief. These can be positive or negative, and can address a wide range of magnitudes.

• 3. Your Attitude is the result of your calculation, which is based on your beliefs and values. After you make a decision about whether your preconceived beliefs are true or not, you will make a complex calculation considering values, your beliefs, and the relationships they create. Your attitude can depend on an unlimited number of value and belief pairs.

If Dr. Fishbein’s theories hold true, you can hypothetically predict the reaction of individuals to your marketing cycle, and adjust their final attitude by altering their beliefs and values. It is important to target the beliefs that hold the most universal value because you can never consider every consumer’s every belief, and you can’t forsee what kind of value each expectation carries.

I think that you can increase your odds, but you can probably get results that are just as accurate by using your own intuition and listening to what users have to say. Either way, a product launch isn’t something that you make up as you go. It should be engineered to give your product the best chance of meeting the highest expectations. If consumers aren’t expecting any value, you will have an extremely hard time reaching the critical mass that it takes to operate as a business. If they’re expecting too much, the lifespan of your product will be all of one day, and the best times your business has will be before you sell anything. You need to set your target as high as you know you can hit.

One Weak Link Can Break Your Value Chain

You may have a superb product, or great marketing, or a flawless distribution plan set up, but any one segment of your business can ruin a customer’s experience. Every department needs to be built up equally because a single weak link in the chain will keep you from supporting the weight of your own hype.

When N-Control launched their Avenger controller in 2011, production and shipping delays put delivery behind schedule for over six months. The problem was that N-Control had already accepted pre-payment for the controllers, and thousands of customers were losing their enthusiasm for the product. The product was well-made, it performed as advertised, and the story of helping handicapped kids play video games was a charming one. The company missed out on millions of dollars in lost revenue because the early adopters (the most important segment in a product’s life cycle) had an expectation that wasn’t met.

Last but not least, do some research and make sure that the value that you place on your product is in line with the value your target market would place on it. Many entrepreneurs go ahead with bad ideas because they convince themselves that it is a moneymaker. After it becomes “Their Thing”, all objectivity is lost and their bias becomes ingrained. Get the opinions of others who do not have a vested interest in your product’s success. Address all the deficiencies in the beginning, and you may be able to transform a bad idea into a viable business.

Now I’ve got a question for you: did the value of this post meet your expectations? Leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Source(s):

    – Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior : an introduction to theory and research 

The only problem is that to use Google for traffic, we have to use their ranking system to our advantage. Getting a high ranking is a marketing campaign all its own, and competition is heavy. Not to mention the often temperamental decisions that the search engine can make regarding duplicate content, spam and popularity. Even with services in place to make things more clear, such as Google Authorship.

You are better off finding alternate ways to drive traffic, even if you still work to improve your rankings. Luckily, there are several ways in which you can do that.

Accept That It Will Take Time and Effort

Before we get into the actual tips, this needs to be covered right away. There are plenty of tools out there that claim they can bring you traffic with nothing on your end but a couple of clicks. Maybe they can deliver on that promise, but don’t forget the old adage: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And that is the very definition of sounding too good to be true.

If you want a successful, traffic heavy website, you have to be willing to work for it. So if you aren’t prepared to put in that work, even if it eats up every moment of your free time, you might be in the wrong industry.

Establish Partnerships with Niche Publishers

Another use for social media, you can connect with industry leaders and begin to build a relationship. Why is this helpful? Well, other than the benefits of networking within your field, you can get things like opportunities to feature their guest posts, or even chances to interview them for your site.

This will bring people to your site when they promote their interview/post on their social media profiles and website. It will also give you a bit of second hand credibility.

Another way to establish industry partnerships is using trusted companies that specialize in building those connections for you

Use Other Blogs

This is going to be a fantastic resource, but one that comes in trickles, not floods. The good news is that the more you do it, the more trickles that creates, and it makes a real difference over time. Other blogs can provide a platform for your own content in two ways:

• Through participating in expert interviews, which usually link to your website, and occasionally links in the content itself to related posts on your blog.
• Through commenting on other people’s posts, especially on high profile or popular blogs. To do this, you have to make sure that you both catch the post right when it is published (subscribe to their feed or use a reader), and write insightful, well formed comments that show you read the content, then link to a related post you wrong on your own site.

Publishing expert interviews also helps a lot:

Get Listed Where Traffic is High

Look around your niche and neighboring niches. If you are a local blogger, get listed in high-traffic local directories (here’s a good example of high-quality social-media-friendly local web directory).

Don’t be afraid to reach out to editors and ask what it takes to be listed. If you create a well-personalized meaningful email, it will be well-received by directory editors.

Social Media Hype

You have to accept this right now: social media is everything. It is the lifeblood of the internet. It is a marketers dream. A social platform, no matter which one you choose (and you should choose several) can be means of engagement, low cost advertising and a great way to connect with people to form a community. Which means long term traffic, not just sudden bursts that die away.

Facebook, X/Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest,Instagram, Reddit, LinkedIn… if you can think of a way to use it, do it. Also, pay the cash for a bit of advertising. You can set budgets and do PPC, and sites like Facebook allow you to do featured stories, not just featured profiles. Very helpful for pushing specific content you want to gain more visibility.

Content Repackaging

The more traffic you can get out of a single piece of content, the better. Repackaging your blog posts is a simple way to wring more out of everything you put out, and then place it on multiple platforms in different incarnations in order to improve your traffic.

Some examples of ways you can repackage a blog post:

• Create an infographic.
• Make a video and post it on YouTube, Vimeo, Blip and other high profile hosting sites.
• Draw a comic with the basics of your post written in a more succinct form.
• Offer a podcast.
• Create an ebook out of all of your content and offer it for free, asking only for a like or tweet to download.
• List your collection on your Linktree for long-term discovery

Do you have some tips for boosting traffic without Google? Had some success yourself? Let us know in the comments.

No matter your industry or niche, chances are you can make good money online today. The reason is simple. More and more people use the internet now than before.

People only buy from brands they deem credible. The science behind credibility is built on the principle of social proof. This post will reveal three ways to boost your brand’s online credibility so people buy more from you.

But first, let’s cover the basics.

What Is Credibility In Marketing?

According to Unbounce credibility is a measure of how believable and trustworthy your marketing is perceived to be.

Credible brands attract more quality leads more often. In the end they’re way more profitable than untrustworthy companies.

Why Credibility Is Crucial For Internet Marketers

Credibility is not a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have if you want your business to thrive and have the competitive edge.

Here’s why your business must be trustworthy.

#1. The Marketing Golden Rule

It’s a cliché for a reason: people do business with people with they know, like and trust. Without trust customers don’t transact, period. So without credibility, you cannot do business online.

#2. The Proliferation Of Scams

The FBI Internet Crime Report says internet victim losses exceeded $1.4 Billion. Understandably, people are nervy and skeptical. They think twice before doing business online. As an internet marketer, you’ve got to work overtime to allay their fears and win their confidence.

Now that we’re done with the essentials, let’s get into the details of building brand believability.

3 Sure-fire Ways To Boost Online Credibility

The first step is to buy a domain name that creates positive and relevant associations.

Here are three sure-fire ways to build your company’s credibility on the internet.

#1. The Credentials Technique

Would you hire a medical school freshman to do a life-saving op on you?

Probably not.

You want someone who’s got the chops and the papers to prove it.

Certifications are crucial in convincing prospects a business is the real deal.

Here’s why.

• Certifications denote expertise– when a business places its qualifications on the table it shows they’re specialized practitioners not dabblers in their field.
• Certifications denote verification– whenever a brand or service provider has been tested and verified by a third party, it shows they’re an authentic brand.
• Certifications denote excellence– when a business is examined and passed by the highest and brightest bodies in their field it shows they’re committed to reaching the apex of quality or service for their clients.

In a word, education and certifications are a big vote of confidence in a brand. But make sure the qualification is related to your field.

For instance, if you are a software developer, it makes sense to have a degree in software development from a trusted and accredited University like Maryville, or some other respected institution. Or, if you’re a content marketer it might pay to have a degree in business, marketing, or advertising with other content marketing specific certifications, like ones from the Online Marketing Institute.

Whether free or paid, online or traditional, education and certifications work well. They show beyond doubt that you are a qualified and reliable business, not a fly-by-night chancer.

White Shark Media certainly boost their legitimacy and authority in the eyes of visitors by proudly displaying their Google Partner badge.

Source: White Shark Media

As part of a couple of hand-picked Google partners, White Shark Media prove their expertise emphatically by simply showing their certification.

Certifications supercharge your authority fast.

#2. The Case Study Technique

Case studies are a powerful type of content in business.

A recent research on content preferences by Demand Gen revealed that buyers use case studies more than any other content to inform their purchasing decisions. Take a look at the results of the study below.

Source: Orbit Media

In other words, customer case studies are the most persuasive content you can create to convince customers to buy from you. This is especially true for B2B brands.

Why do case studies work like gangbusters?

First, it’s because of their specificity. They show exactly how a specific brand in a specific place was helped in a specific way. This is more convincing than making generic claims.

Second, a good case study proves a product’s value powerfully. This makes it more likely for prospects to buy the product.

A great example of a winning case study with the potential to generate leads and sales is from Moz. The post titled “How to Build Links to Your Blog – A Case Study” got 101 shares and 174 shares.

Source: Moz

Thorough and insightful case studies inspire confidence in a brand.

#3. The Authority Blitzkrieg Technique

Have you ever wondered how some companies are everywhere?

Go to your niche’s top blogs, they are there.

Listen to A-list podcasts, they are there.

Go to niche conferences, you hear them quoted often.

They’re probably using the blitzkrieg technique to promote their brand. Let me explain. A marketing blitzkrieg is a swift, intensive and strategic promotion of a brand in key places where their audience hangs out. All this takes place in a specific time frame for maximum impact.

This can be done through guest posting, being a podcast guest, interviews, and press mentions.

On seeing a brand interacting with the leading voices in their space, people naturally afford the same respect to that company.

Danny Iny of Mirasee used this method to shoot from obscurity into marketing stardom in a couple of months. He guest posted his way to a multiple 7 figure business earning the nickname Freddy Krueger of guest blogging in the process.

Want to rapidly boost your brand’s legitimacy?

Try a strategic promotion onslaught.

Time To Raise Your Authenticity Ratings

There’s no doubt about it: the more clout you garner as an internet marketer the more cash you net.

Build your reputation one step at a time.

You’ll see a gradual increase in your profits. It won’t happen overnight but it’ll materialize eventually if you execute these tips wisely.

Unfortunately, not all of these are successful, with research suggesting that half of all UK start ups will fail within 5 years.

How can you give your start up the best possible chance of succeeding?

1. Build your audience early

Too many start ups fall into the trap of delaying their marketing efforts until they have something concrete to launch. While time is of a premium during those early days of the business, putting the effort into engaging with potential customer before you launch your product or service will pay off in the long run.

Social media marketing can be a useful (and cost effective) method of raising awareness of and generating a ‘buzz’ about your company, whilst email marketing can help you build relationships with your future customers. A word of caution, though – make sure you know who you want to reach before starting your marketing activities. Don’t try to be everything to everybody; it’s important to know your niche.

Take your brand name seriously. Pick something that is memorable and meaningful. There are many cool business name ideas for you to get inspired.

2. Think ‘lean’

To help your business succeed, it’s important that you discover a way to work smarter, not harder. In order to do this, many start ups follow the ‘Lean’ methodology. You can find out more about Lean methodology here, but some of the basic tenets involve:

• Using your time wisely – don’t spend all of your time on ideas that are unlikely to work or are not scalable
• ‘Doing’ rather than planning – while some planning is of course essential, it is important not to ‘overplan’. Instead, concentrate your efforts on getting a Minimum Viable Product out to market at the earliest opportunity. This enables you to start making money earlier to fund further developments, as well as gathering essential feedback about your product. Which leads us on to…

3. Look outside

It can be all too easy to become inward facing when developing a new product or service, but it is essential that every decision you make has the end customer in mind. Look outside of the company and gather feedback from external parties. Then use this to inform the development of products and direction of your company.

In the same vein, don’t underestimate the value of looking at other companies operating in your sector. Learning from your competitors is a great way to improve your own business. What do they do well? Where are their weaknesses? How can you be better than them?

4. Prepare for success

This may sound like an obvious one, but it’s surprising how many start ups are so focused on making their business successful that they are unprepared when success does finally arrive. It’s essential that you plan for the future and are ready to meet demand and grow when the times comes.

Hopefully you have been following the Lean methodology (see number 2) and have developed something that is scalable. Now you need to identify what you will need in order to scale up and invest in this accordingly. For many companies, this is the team. When growing your team you need to ensure you hire the right people. Identify the weaknesses in your organisation and recruit to compensate for these.

5. Look after number one

Launching and growing a new business is incredibly time intensive and entrepreneurs often find themselves working pretty much 24/7 in those early days. However, while it may seem difficult, even impossible at times, it’s vital that you carve out some time for yourself. Whether it’s catching up with some friends, reading a book or working out in the gym, taking a ‘time out’ from the company can help you to regain focus and stop you from burning out. After all, if you’re not functioning properly, chances are neither will your business.

So there you have it – building an audience, working smarter, getting outside opinions and making time for yourself. Of course, nothing guarantees success, but by considering these five points, you can ensure that your company is in a good place and ready to make the most of any opportunities that come along.

If you want to spend the majority of your time on creating your blog content rather than having to deal with the technical issues, then a hosted blog service like WordPress or Blogger are your best options. They are free and they take care of all the back-end issues so that you can focus on the most important thing- writing for your blog.

Both of these sites offer pre-built content management systems (CMS) that allow you to write, edit and manage your posts and content with ease. You can compose via HTML code or WYSIWYG editor. You can insert photos and images, video and other features as well. You can change your design and layout by installing different themes. Since both platforms basically do the same things, you have to look a little deeper to determine which one is for you.

Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Blogger

Blogger is a platform that many beginners use. It was started by a tiny company in San Francisco called Pyra Labs in August of 1999. This was right at the height of the dot com boom, but the project was not intended to be a big time venture. It was actually founded by three friends who commissioned as a side project to solve a basic problem, and out of the development Blogger was born.

The Blogger dashboard is simple and intuitive. There are no frills, but when the primary concern is content, flashy add-ons aren’t needed.

It was small at first, but took off and a couple of years later. I used Blogger way back then, and can say that it has definitely improved. In 2002, Google decided to buy them out. The partnership was exactly what the Blogger team needed, and they were the blogging platform that Google needed.

It’s user-friendly, free, and you can have a blog up and running in minutes. If you intend your blogging to be just a hobby, this may be the platform for you.

The Blogger post editor is similar to a word document, and the WYSIWYG setting makes it a popular choice with users that have little experience.

Some of the main advantages include:

• It’s fast. Blogger may be the fastest blogging tool out there and blogs load nearly as quickly as the Google site does due to Google’s expansive server network.
• As a Google product, Blogger is backed by their infrastructure and easy to use. It’s a great product for beginners.
• With Blogger you can easily customize your template with the help of style sheet.
• Free Google hosting – you don’t need to buy any hosting service as all you need is to buy a domain for your blog.
• With Google hosting your blog will be almost impossible to hack.
• While it hasn’t been proven, your site may rank higher on Google, just because it is owned by Google.
• Google never goes down. This means your site is unlikely to ever go down.

Disadvantages of Blogger include:

• It is owned by Google, which means if Google does not like the content, they can take your site down. Some people who dislike Google will boycott Blogger.
• With Blogger being a free platform, many spam blogs are likely to be set up. If your blog is flagged as spam, even if it isn’t you might lose all your hard work as well as your online presence. If blogging is a hobby, maybe this isn’t a big issue; but if you want to earn money with your blog, this is a big risk.

WordPress

WordPress has come a long way in the past decade to become one of the most popular blogging platforms to use. “WordPress started in 2003 with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing and with fewer users than you can count on your fingers and toes. Since then it has grown to be the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on millions of sites and seen by tens of millions of people every day.”

The WordPress dashboard is as functional and feature rich as the self hosted WordPress.org system. It may take users a little longer to get acclimated, but the ability to expand your features as you advance your skills is worth the extra effort.

It’s loved for its ease of use, customizability and included templates. You can also sign up for a free account at WordPress.com, although there are also paid upgrade options. Since it’s open source, there are tons of hobbyists and developers out there who have created themes and plugins for WordPress blogs to make them more functional, interactive and visually attractive.

Advantages of WordPress include:

• SEO-friendly. This is the biggest reason that so many publishers choose WordPress. By using different plugins, you can optimize your ability to get traffic and to create search-friendly blogs. You can easily drive traffic from WordPress with its SEO Plugins.  The blogs are optimized for Google, Yahoo! and Bing right out of the box. WordPress entries also include a number of meta tags that search engines use to determine how to index your pages.
• User friendly. There is little to no training needed to use WordPress.
• WordPress offers lots of flexibility with free-hosted blogging solutions with several paid upgrades available. Users can choose custom domains, themes and an advanced analytics package.
• Themes are easily installed and the WordPress theme engine allows you to quickly and easily change the look and feel of your blog. There are many free as well as paid options available.

Disadvantages of WordPress:

• Some themes may be duplicated on other sites, which can negatively affect your brand.
• WordPress sites are more often targeted by hackers.
• WordPress is typically not as fast as Google’s Blogger without the help of plugins.

The WordPress framework isn’t as simple as Blogger, but the added functionality is preferred by the majority of bloggers.

Best for You

Let’s just say that one isn’t any better than the other. Both are equally capable of blogging. The real question lies in which is best for you and your needs. When it comes to certain features, it’s a matter of preference. For example, I like the look of WordPress’ dashboard better than Blogger. I find it more user-friendly and with more editing options. However, some users find the WordPress layout hard to get used to.

I always suggest that bloggers make a dummy account on each platform and just spend some time playing around before making a choice. See which one you feel most comfortable with. Pop into the forums and check out the communities. Make a list of what you want to do with your blog and check the features of each platform to see which one meets your needs the most. Since both platforms are acceptable for blogging, you need to do some personal research to really be sure of which one is best for your needs.

Do you already blog on Blogger or WordPress? Which one do you like the best and why?

If a business doesn’t grow, it stagnates and eventually dies.

That’s why wise brands are always on the lookout for ways to increase revenue. Achieving growth is not as difficult as you think. In this post, we will go over 3 easy ways to grow your business.

Creating a digital presence is an obvious step 1. That’s when you have much more growth opportunities. If you are new, here’s a detailed guide on how to buy a domain name.

Let’s jump right in.

#1. Do Affiliate Marketing like Smart Blogger

Affiliate marketing is booming right now.

The reason?

It’s a stupid-easy way of growing a brand’s revenue without investing a lot. Companies have woken up to the power of selling other people’s products. Up to 81% of brands now use affiliate marketing to grow their revenue. Studies by Statista showed affiliate marketing spend in the U.S. has been thriving and will hit $8.2 billion.

Smart Blogger, a multi-million dollar company that helps people make a living writing through premium courses, has leveraged affiliate marketing to make additional revenue. They prioritize affiliate sales by putting their ‘tools we recommend page’ on the main menu.

Here’s how to maximize your affiliate marketing earnings:

• Start your search for partners by considering your current business associates e.g. suppliers.
• Create a ‘tools we recommend page’ and put it in a prominent place on your site like the main menu or sidebar.
• Write a detailed review of your biggest affiliate products. Done right, this will earn you organic traffic and recurring revenue.
• Rope in affiliate partners and influencers by crafting a stellar outreach email so they say yes to your proposal.
• Sell only premium products with recurring revenue, not just one-off sales.
• Sell on social media as well- it’s a huge opening to push for more sales. Just make sure you engage your audience first.

Because it’s effortless to execute, affiliate marketing is an easy decision if you want to hike your income.

#2. Start a Membership Site like Dollar Shave Club

Forbes reported that subscription business models grew by a jaw-dropping 800% globally and is not showing signs of slowing down soon. 

It’s easy to understand why.

Subscription sites guarantee your business a steady, predictable income stream. And, if you are in a sector where you can charge premium prices or have a large audience, you profit handsomely. With 3+ million subscribers and raking in $200+ million dollars a year, Dollar Shave Club built an empire through a membership site.

Below are tips on how to profit from membership sites:

• Test your membership site ideas first before investing fully in them.
• Do a small-scale beta launch to confirm the validity of your idea and afford your audience a chance to co-create the site.
• Use the right membership site tools to give members a memorable experience so they stick around longer.
• Give generous discounts to customers who commit for longer periods.
• Keep the vibe going- membership sites are not just about the product or results, they’re all about shared experiences.
• Never compromise on content and product quality
• Develop a referral system so you scale up to five times faster.

For simplicity and sure-fire monthly income, nothing beats a subscription model.

#3. Get into Smart Partnerships like Uber

For your business to grow, build a strong local team, for it to explode build strategic partnerships with like-minded outsider brands.

In an annual survey of CEOs by PWC, 49% of corporate leaders said they’re planning to partner with other businesses as a growth strategy. Strategic partnerships trigger exponential growth. Plus, they help you penetrate new markets. 

Uber knows the power of alliances to boost growth. They’ve joined hands with Spotify, Starwood,  and American Airlines. Riders can listen to music, earn hotel points, and experience a seamless travel experience whether they’re in the sky or the ground. No wonder they are dominating the market. 

Let’s look at ways to supercharge joint ventures.

• Look for partners whose services/products complement and complete what your company is doing.
• Make sure your potential partner is reliable- test the waters with smaller commitments first before going all in.
• Incorporate your partners into your workflows and systems.
• Communicate often and honestly always.
• Clearly define your roles (and document them) so each partner knows exactly what their role is.
• Agree on the long-term goals for a flourishing long-term commercial union.
• Your partnership doesn’t have to be long term, you can join forces for specific campaigns and still get awesome results.

Partner with other enterprises to propel your business to greater heights.

Business Growth: Innovation Is The Key

Growth opportunities are close by if you know what to look for.

Whether it’s selling another company’s products, running a subscription site, or joining hands with another brand, growth is within reach. All it takes is a bit of innovation.

So go ahead and use the growth lever that makes sense for your business.