If your business is booming you are in good luck. Most businesses, large or small, are still feeling the effects of the sluggish economy. Stagnant and falling revenues have caused many businesses to slash costs – even at the expense of growing their business. Marketing is always an easy target when it comes to slashing costs. While reducing costs all around is not a bad idea, eliminating useful marketing practices can be detrimental. Marketing collateral usually gets cut when businesses try to reduce operating costs. No one says you need a brochure, a fancy business card or that snazzy mug with ...

E-newsletters have long replaced traditional print newsletters. Cost, ease of use, tracking capabilities and convenience are just a few of the reasons why business owners have turned to e-newsletters. Although there are many pros to using e-newsletters to stay connected with your customers and followers, your e-newsletters still need to be worthy enough to read.   Use the tips below to create an effective e-newsletter.   Think of Your Readers This may seem like a no-brainer, but we sometimes get too involved in what we want to say that we forget about what our readers want to hear. Understanding your readers means that you know ...

  Your brand is more than a cute logo or a catchy tagline. Your brand is the foundation of your business. As such, your brand should directly reflect your business philosophy and accurately address your target market and mission. Creating a brand image that will stay in the minds of customers is not easy to achieve, however, it is essential that you do your best when defining your branding. Think of your brand as an ambassador for your company. As an ambassador, your brand should be the best representative of your entire business model. When creating your brand, make sure you take ...

  Landing page optimization is a vital part of conversion rate optimization, a process by which you increase visitor traffic to your website. Attracting prospects to your landing page is hard enough. Holding their attention once there is even more crucial. The highest percentage of abandonment happens in the first ten seconds. Peak your visitor’s interest by optimizing your landing page. Below are six key components to optimizing your landing page for higher conversion rates. 1.  Headline – 80% of your opportunity for increasing your conversion rate lies here. Make sure your headline clearly states what your customers will get from your landing ...

Your website is an essential marketing tool. Your business depends largely on its success, especially if you are running an eCommerce website. Making sure your website is an effective marketing and sales tool is essential to increasing your bottom line.   If you’re just getting ready to launch your website or have had a website for some years now, it’s always a good idea to double check that you aren’t making obvious mistakes. Here are 9 common website mistakes that can be easily fixed.   1) Unprofessional Look and Feel For many, your website is the first impression of your business. An unprofessional website that you ...

Your lead generation form is an important marketing tool.  It is the single most important way of communicating and building a relationship with potential customers.  Ensuring that you have a form that works both for you and potential customers is key to attracting quality leads.  Here are a few tips for creating lead forms that get results. 1. Keep it Short. Your lead form should be as short as possible. Decide what information is absolutely necessary and discard everything else. Adding anything more has the potential to ...

Direct mail campaigns are a powerful resource for any business. Not only are they highly targeted, measurable and flexible, they are also easy to personalize and cost effective. The tips below will help you get your direct mail campaign on the right track for a great return on your investment. 1. Research Your Target Market – Knowing who you are selling to is one of the most critical steps in direct mail advertising. Since your research shapes the rest of your decisions, it’s important to understand your target market from the start. Research tools such as data lists are useful at ...