Business Beginner

Fellow bootstrapping business professionals: Snapchat is all the rage these days. A younger generation has transitioned away from "boring" Twitter and even "old people" social media leader Facebook (now that their parents and grandparents use it daily). All of the ads on these platforms certainly haven't helped either. Snapchat on the other hand is simple, fun, less commercialized, and has far less text to get in your way. A picture is worth a thousand words after all... so a Snapchat video might be worth 10,000! And like social media platform Pinterest , it's most likely heading for a multi-billion dollar IPO this year! ( Update : It's recent IPO values the company at around a staggering $25 Billion ). That means it's here to stay so you need to stop ignoring it and get on board.  Despite the incredible business potential available on a free platform with millions of users, chances are you aren't a Snapchat marketing superstar... yet. You mos...

Email marketing has been around for two decades now and it's changed the game. As a descendant of direct marketing in the snail mail world, email marketing has become the method of choice for those looking to boost sales of their product or service. It is a super-fast and easy way to reach out to people quickly and effectively. And there are some great free or affordable email marketing platforms out there to use like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and iContact. Email marketing might not be new, but it has been proven to be effective time and time again. Stick the following 5 tips in your digital tool belt to make this workhorse perform better than ever.  1. Incentivize  Successful inbound marketers already know that the secret to the click lies in the subject line. You’ve read the long vs short argument, but here’s something that might be even more important. Offer a brazen incentive to encourage the click. Something as simple as offering free shipping might increase the open...

Gary Vaynerchuk is a very successful entrepreneur and digital marketer that is getting a lot of attention these days. He has built businesses and taken them to the next level with his hustle, passion, insight, and incredible work ethic. He's a best-selling author, social media influencer , speaker, podcast host, marketing consultant, and pretty much every other multimedia marketing role you can come up with. Vaynerchuk is basically a walking Shark Tank on steroids, mixed with Tony Robbins . Make sure to drink a lot of coffee and try to keep up with him. He was recently featured on the new TV show "Follow The Leader" and he'll even be speaking at this past year's Inbound16 from marketing software company  HubSpot . He preaches the gospel of business  hustle and inspires millions online of marketers and entrepreneurs. Here are some of my favorite inspirational startup quotes from Gary Vaynerchuk: 1)  "Without hustle, talent will only carry you so far." ...

Creating a winning website for your business can be a delicate balancing act. On one level, you want it to appear extremely professional, but on the other, you want to make sure there is adequate personal touch as well. Adding a personalized feel to your website will automatically increase customers' perception of your business because it will feel like you are speaking directly to them and addressing their needs. So how can you create this warm welcome? Read on to see five of the best ways to personalize your business's website.  1. Have Custom Web Design  If your website does not have a unique look and has the same design as many other websites out there, it won't stand out to visitors as much. It's even worse if your website looks like it hasn't been updated since 1999. Hiring a web development team to create a custom site is often your best bet. If you can, have your website's design reflect your brand in some way, either via color schemes, the use of your...

Marketing is a very old tradition, as is sales. One can imagine salesmen haggling with customers in the marketplaces of ancient Babylon. Where there is trade, there is sales. In the early 20th century, one Frank Hutchinson Dukesmith wrote an article for Salesmanship Magazine that presented the first break-down of the buyer’s journey. He used the acronym AIDA: “attention, interest, desire, action.”  ● Attention: A salesperson introduces a prospect to a product.  ● Interest: As the prospect expresses interest, the salesman introduces specific details about the product.  ● Desire: The salesman convinces the prospect that they really need and want the product.  ● Action: The consumer makes a purchase decision. The salesman closes his deal.  A century later, the sales process has changed dramatically. The birth of the Internet has given people more purchasing options than ever before, and it has changed the way they look for the products they need. As traditional a...

Here are some of my favorite inspirational business quotes from co-founder & CEO of Hubspot Brian Halligan: 1) "People shop and learn in a whole new way compared to just a few years ago, so marketers need to adapt or risk extinction." 2) "To be successful and grow your business and revenues, you must match the way you market your products with the way your prospects learn about and shop for your products." 3) "You can’t out-spend the giants, but you can out-think, out-teach, and out-help them." 4)  "Innovation: Imagine the future and fill in the gaps." 5)  “Think across the traditional boundaries of your marketplace to alternatives, not just competitors.” 6)  “The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.” --- I hope you enjoyed this compilation of great motivational business quotes from Hubspot 's Brian Halligan. Interested in more inbound marketing wisdom ? Read My Posts: - 8 Great Seth Godin Business Quotes  - 8 Great ...

Good marketing is essential for making your ingenious new product or service into a full-fledged success. It’s not just about dishing out a good product, it’s also about convincing people that they need it, and that it is just what they’ve been looking for. It takes quite a bit of thought to develop a marketing strategy that is effective, yet sublime enough so that people won’t see right through it.  Marketing has been around for ages, but with the advance of the Internet it’s grown to a whole new level. Nowadays ads are everywhere, and they’re constantly being developed to be more effective. That being said, there are still a few things you can do to make sure that your marketing strategy is good enough to draw new clients in. Here are a few tips that we’re sure will come in handy when planning your next marketing campaign.  1. Not Frequently Updating Your Blog  If your last blog post is a month ago, Google isn’t going to include it in a lot of searches, because there ...

Do you ever feel like you're banging your head against the wall when it comes to marketing your small business?  In today's always connected world, the fact is all brands have to be smarter in the way they look at marketing. There's not a day that goes by that a new marketing technique or tip is dropped in your lap promising you a “ revolutionary way to market your small business ”. Excited by the possibilities you try it out only to find out your business struggles to reach its marketing goals. It's time to stop over- thinking the process & start doing something that's all too natural.  "Approximately 65% of our conversation consist of stories” estimates scientist & writer Jeremy Hsu. Everyday we tell stories about ourselves & others. Stories are in our blood as we've been telling them since the caveman days. We remember & learn subjects best through stories. When it comes down to it, human beings are storytelling animals. Our natural stren...