I hear a lot of people compare the New Year to a blank piece of paper. On the one hand, that’s great! A fresh slate! On the other hand, there is nothing scarier than a blank piece of paper when you need to fill it with ideas. Just a few weeks ago, I sat down at my desk to create my 2021 editorial calendar. That’s where I put down all of the topics that I want to cover in my podcast, blog, webinars, and YouTube videos. Let me tell you, coming up with 52+ fresh ideas is NOT easy! And…
What is the secret to finding and working with a virtual assistant team? Simple: you need to connect with the right people. Trust me, I know this from personal experience! Years ago, I was a “lone wolf” virtual assistant. If my clients needed social media written, blogs edited, sales funnels designed, or email newsletters sent, it would be me behind the computer. While my business was thriving, I certainly wasn’t. The stress was starting to get to me. And even worse, because I was doing EVERYTHING myself, I was limiting my business’s growth. I couldn’t take on new clients because…
Have you taken the time to think about how people get to your website? A sales funnel is key. Even though we are firmly in the age of the internet, there are countless small businesses out there that maintain a “real world” focus on their company. The online part of their business isn’t given as much thought and focus as it should. First off, online IS the real world. Everything we do is online nowadays. Even before the pandemic hit, online sales and interactions were starting to outnumber in-person interactions. And now, well, there isn’t even a contest. Just look…
Do you have big business plans for the new year? With the previous year in the rearview mirror, I’ve been putting a ton of thought into revamping my business plan. I’m a firm believer in coming up with a new business plan every January (And then of course, I revisit it quarterly to see if I need to tweak it). In this year’s plan, I’ve been specifically focusing on ways I can grow my brand through digital marketing. Branding encompasses everything in a business, including your personality. Your personality, goals, business sense, beliefs, everything goes directly into your brand. And…
Sometimes, I wonder how I manage to get through my daily to-do list in my business. Not to brag, but believe me, my to-do list can get a little crazy at times. I’m working with dozens of different clients who work in several industries. It takes a lot to keep everything straight (which is why I live by my project management system), I use Teamwork and it is my lifeline! I couldn’t work without it! It helps me keep every project organized and ensures that I never miss a detail or a deadline. So keeping things organized is the easy…
How much time every week do you spend on your social media? I’m not just talking about writing it. Creating compelling content is only one of the keys to social media marketing success. So much more needs to go into it if you genuinely want to build your audience and convert your followers into paying customers! Here’s an admission for you: I’ve been spending WAY too much time recently growing my Instagram! But I genuinely believe that it’s worth every second. Social media channels like Instagram and Facebook offer small businesses an invaluable (and remarkably cheap) advertising platform to reach…
In some ways, this year feels like it has dragged on and on. And in other ways it feels like it’s zipping by! I realized this week is Thanksgiving! Then, I started to think how I haven’t started my holiday shopping yet! As a small business owner, there is nothing like shopping for client gifts to make the holiday stresses pile up! With Black Friday and Cyber Monday in front of us, small business owners are starting to think about finding the right gifts for their family and friends and CLIENTS too. You’re probably one of them and if you’re…
I bet the holiday shopping season is going to be a little different this year. Every November, you see the same news story on Black Friday: hundreds of people crowding outside of Walmarts and Targets around the country, waiting to grab as many deals as they can. It’s the biggest shopping day of the year with sales galore. COVID-19, however, has changed all that. I suspect that we won’t see the insane crowds as usual outside of stores this Friday, November 27th. As large indoor gatherings are prohibited, stores won’t allow a borderline mob to roar in, grabbing everything in…
Copywriting is at the heart of most marketing strategies. Everything from writing ads to crafting webinars to coming up with taglines requires a certain amount of copywriting skill. As a small business owner, you need to effectively communicate your brand’s key messages through compelling copy that converts people to paying customers. But how do you do this? If you don’t know the different types of copy, proven strategies to get customers to engage, and ways to deal with writer’s block ( a particular nightmare for all writers out there), you’re likely going to be stuck staring at a blank page…
Are you on social media? Of course you are! Who isn’t! Do you remember your very first exposure to social media? Oh my gosh, for me it was Classmates.com! Haha. But for many of you, it may have been MySpace! Do you remember what it felt like to, for the very first time, have unlimited reach? You could make friends and connect with anyone in the entire world. Communication was the way of the future. That was the promise of social media in the late 90s. But no one could have predicted what it would become in the 2010s! Facebook,…
