How to Deal With Debt By Doing Business Marketing Smartly?

Published on: 04 June 2018 Last Updated on: 03 September 2024

Small businesses and startups often find it much easier to borrow the lion’s share of their capital. Finding an investor is never completely off the table, but it is not an easy task to do. It is much easier to find lending organizations, who are ready to test out the abilities of the new entrepreneurs to multiply their monies.

Very soon, a time arises when the creditors expect at least a part of their invested money back. Now, this is a time most entrepreneurs know will come, but none are ready to face. It is almost always “too early” or “too sudden.”

Online marking, when you are already in massive debt?

Gaining momentum for a new business not only takes time and effort, but it also takes some serious marketing skills. By marketing, we do not mean TVCs, hoardings, and pamphlets. Those are ancient forms of advertising that no one even notices anymore. If you are in such a situation, what you need is a stable dose of online marketing that will make you visible to your target audience.

Here comes the biggest conundrum in the world. When a business is already nose-deep in debt, can it afford to plunge further in by going in for online marketing? That entirely depends on your perspective of online marketing. Your contenders and contemporaries may think online marketing to be an added expense, but you know what almost 71% of the US population is already online and looking for businesses like you. So, would you deem online marketing as an added expense or a smart investment?

You need a website first :

website

The first step of online marketing is getting your own presence established online. It means an excellent site. By nice, we mean something that’s functional, professional, SEO optimized, and capable of attracting and converting traffic. It should represent your selling theme, services, and products perfectly.

Building a website is no easy feat. You may have the enthusiasm to build a website from scratch, but not all entrepreneurs can have the coding skills and analytical skills needed to construct a working business website. Building a website from scratch can take up a lot of time, and it takes a lot of algorithms to perfect the buying and payment process. Either you can opt for DIY website builders like WordPress or Joomla, or you can surely approach a professional website builder.

A professional website builder will again cost you a few bucks. If you are thinking of building a PHP based website from scratch, it will also take considerable amounts of time. Now, this is not going to be cheap for your business. Therefore, it is not uncommon for entrepreneurs to wonder if going for online marketing is the best way to a debt solution.

The inspiration you need :

So, let us tell you a real-life success story. Initially a nobody, Rank Fishkin started out with his own tech startup and went plummeting into a $500,000 personal debt. From there he is now the owner of the world’s largest SEO, social media, and content marketing website Moz that is netting about $40 million in revenue for the last seven years. That is a success story better than any fairy tale you will ever hear. Was it easy? Did it involve magic spells? No! It required endless hours of smart digital marketing strategies and intelligent investment moves.

The moral of the story is: just because you are nose deep in debt, does not mean you can invest in something new. Digital marketing and social media marketing are the new ways to reintroduce your brand to a new world of potential buyers. People are waiting out there right now to hear from you about your products and services.

How to find them?

Finding the right people at the right time is the only “magic” you need to perform. You will need a few social media listening tools like HootSuite, Buffer, and Social Sprout. These offer a few free services. Their premium services cost less than a Grande. Of course, you will need to work on your social media account before you start listening to what people are saying about your brand online! So get started. Create a professional Facebook page, Twitter account, and at least an Instagram page. You need to post daily. Sometimes twice a day. Engage in regular conversations with your customers. Stay visible and exciting.

If you ever run out of original content, do not shy away from asking your followers for some. Do it tactfully. Introduce new photo contests, quizzes, and polls with attractive rewards. That is the way to create user-generated content. It is the most efficient way to keep your page and wall filled with meaningful content every minute of staying online.

Investing is not the problem, not spending in the right places is :

Online marketing is an investment in every way possible. It is like putting a bait to catch the bigger fish. Using the right keywords in your product descriptions, doctoring your URL to suit the liking of the bots, and including image tags to become visible during Google image searches are all parts of that investment. Still, you may want to consult your personal financial advisor before you take the plunge. You need to be in touch with your financial reality before you can make new investments. Your financial advisor or your debt counselor should help you in understanding the debt program’s details. Your current debt program may have reservations about making new investments or certain kinds of investments unless you pay off a certain fraction of the amount you have borrowed.

Most businesses end up in a fiscal dead-end due to ignorance and bad decision-making, rather than investing in new marketing. We have seen companies drown because they were not adventurous enough and they have always played safe. In 2017, online marketing is not a luxury or an option. It is a compulsion you need to embrace before your competitors take away all your potential clients. Making yourself more visible on the internet will get you more sales and profit. It will help you make more money and pay off your debts faster than usual.

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3 Easy Ways to Grow Your Email List

The email marketing industry is expanding and there is growing competition between brands: they all want to get people’s attention. Sometimes, acquiring more subscribers seems hard. If you are looking to grow your email list, we have three easy ways maybe you never thought of. Whether you offer a service, product or content is the product, use these tips to add more subscribers to your database and become more successful at email marketing. Why you should grow your email list There are good reasons to build your email database. It can be an instantaneous way to reach the people who want to hear from you. Also, it’s cheaper than advertising or mass mailings. Every marketer wants a large email list which is understandable. In general, the more people you reach, the better results and this has never been more true than with emails. The typical ROI for email is $42 for every $1 spent. However, before you try any email list growth strategy, remember it’s not always about the numbers. You want true engagement and a long-term relationship with your audience. To build that, focus on adding real subscribers to your list – people who genuinely want to connect with your brand. How do you do that? Let’s get into three ways to grow your email list without much effort. Is it easy for someone to sign up? Many organizations and freelancers have only one sign-up form and you’d be surprised how much you have to search the website to find that form. So, the first tip: make your email sign-up visible and easy to find. For instance, you could place it at the top of your website and not buried down by the copyright notice. Also, avoid making the text so small that someone can’t read it. Instead, let your signup form be the first thing people see when they land on your platform. Are you promoting your email list on your social media channels? Maybe you’ve been working hard to gain followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. There’s certainly inherent value in this, but a lot of marketers make the mistake of not cross-promoting channels. Who’s to say that someone can’t follow you on Facebook and be a subscriber to your email list? Just remember that people will frequently leave social media channels for one reason or another. You don’t want them forgetting about your brand and what you offer, so do your best to get them on your list. Post periodically on social media and invite people to subscribe to your emails. Your newsletters’ content should have real value and be unique from your website or social media content. This is a great incentive to gain an email audience. Plus, you can think outside the box to gain new followers. Maybe you can run a contest or offer a freebie, such as an e-book to anyone who signs up – whatever you think would entice your audience. Do you include an email subscribe button in every email you send? Word of mouth is the best marketing. If someone on your list really likes your email and forwards it on to a friend, they need an easy way to subscribe. A “subscribe” button makes it simple by saving them the trouble of looking you up, going to your website, and finding your form. So, at the end of every email you send, include a call-to-action. It could be as simple as: “Did you get this email from a friend? Get yours” + “Subscribe” button. The more convenient you make it for people to subscribe, the faster your email list will grow! Also, it doesn’t hurt to encourage your subscribers to forward your email. Some of them will do that and that’s a great way to grow your audience. It’s not all about numbers Now that we’ve gone over a few easy ways to grow your email list, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not all about numbers. There is another aspect to growing your campaign: email list quality. Gathering lots of subscribers is great for email marketing, but you have to make sure those subscribers are real. You may be asking, “Well, why wouldn’t they be?” In the world of email marketing, there are quite a few types of emails that degrade your sender reputation. A sender reputation is a score that every email sender has. It’s the rating Internet Service Providers use to determine your behavior as an email sender. Some of the factors that influence your sender score are: your bounce rate your overall engagement: open and click-through rates are vital metrics the number of spam complaints and unsubscribes you get Bad email addresses you could have in your list All these factors are in direct connection with the quality of your email list. Unfortunately, every organization or marketer will acquire some bad email addresses over time. Some of the most damaging yet prevalent ones include: Fake email addresses: for a number of reasons, people sometimes provide fake email addresses. Sometimes they just want to take advantage of a freebie and have no intention of being a subscriber. Abuse emails: some people are malicious and others just careless. Abuse email owners have a habit of marking emails as spam, even those they signed up for. You don’t want these people on your list because they will hurt your sender reputation. Temporary email addresses: would you believe there are websites that exist for the sole purpose of generating temporary emails? These email addresses are sometimes called disposable because the person uses them for a day or two and never again. Then, they only cause your bounce rate to go up. On top of these, we can’t forget there’s always natural decay of the list. People simply change email addresses. Some people use their school or work email and they graduate or quit. You must get those email addresses off of your list. Use an email verifier to keep your database clean Thankfully, there is a healthy way to grow and maintain your list. The first thing is to never buy or trade email addresses to add to your list. First of all, it’s illegal to email people without their consent. Furthermore, a purchased list isn’t likely to result in anything positive and most likely the people you add will mark you as spam. The simplest way to keep your list healthy is to: The first clean it in bulk using an email verifier then, install an email verification API on your sign-up forms. Clean your list in bulk If you already have a substantial number of contacts in your list, but are not sure about their validity, run your list through a bulk email verifier. The process is simple and doesn’t take much time: you upload your list into the system and get it back clean within hours or even minutes. Install an email verification API This simple piece of software checks every new email address in real-time. It grants permission to good emailers and keeps out any of the problematic accounts mentioned above. Once your list is clean, consider adding the API to all your sign-up forms to ensure it stays in good shape. The sky’s the limit You would be surprised what a difference email marketing makes. It’s the most personal way to reach people and is an incredible tool to communicate the story of your brand and service. Using careful planning, creativity and email verification tools you are on the right path to growing your email list and getting good results. Read Also: How to Integrate Email Marketing With SEO Why Email Marketing is the BEST Digital Marketing Outreach in Singapore

Getting a Return on Investment From Using a Trade Show Booth

It's easy to find people who will swear that getting a massive ROI from a trade show booth is nearly impossible. That is not the case, by any means. Most likely, those people failed to use some of the tips in this article. Companies that have, however, have experienced massive success with their trade show booth. Here's what they did. 1. Putting Branding First For people who have never heard of your organization before, your booth is their first impression of your brand. If you can make it a positive one, that will result in them being more eager to do business with you. That's why it's crucial to make sure that your booth reflects the unique features of your brand. Incorporating creativity into your branding can help, as it allows you to stand apart from other booths, encouraging more people to take an interest. 2. Having a Friendly Design It's almost certain that there will be other booths around, and attendees might not have enough time to have an in-depth interaction with all of them. That's why having a design that not only showcases your brand but invites people is important. Brands that have worked with ExpoMarketing to create high-performing booths have been presented with unmatched designs. It also helps to have staff surrounding the booth, so that people have someone to talk to and interact with when they decide to explore it. Attendees can also be treated to interactive such as touchscreens, through which they can learn more about your business while having fun. 3. Capitalizing on Word-of-Mouth Marketing A successful trade show booth generates buzz long after the trade show itself. To do this, you need to have something that ensures that people keep talking about your business and the way you presented it. One of the most successful ways to achieve that is to hand out things like stickers and wearables. StickerYou has wide options of premium custom stickers for all your business printing and branding needs. At the end of the event, you can give out prizes to people who wear your merch. It's important to be strategic about the prizes and to make them things that people are likely to display in full view of others. That way, you'll keep generating conversations about your brand and winning over new customers and clients. 4. Networking Meeting attendees before the trade show can have a profound effect on how your booth performs. You'll also be able to gather contact information from people so you can stay in touch and have a chance to convert them later on. When meeting people before a booth, you can On the day of the trade show, people will be more likely to visit your booth because they'll feel a sense of familiarity with it, unlike others that will seem completely alien. When meeting them, however, it's important to focus less on talking about your business and what it does. Rather, you can try to gather as much information about them and what they do. When people do visit your booth, you'll be able to start a conversation based on how you're equipped to help them with the problems they mentioned to you earlier. Combining all these tips will ensure that you have a booth that will have a huge positive ROI, resulting in more clients and customers. The sooner you start thinking about how you're goese tips, the more success you're likely to have with your trade show booth. Read Also: Execute The Perfect Expo With This Trade Show Checklist A Well-Oiled Trade Show Machine: The Ones Running The Show

Why You Need to Include Voice Search Optimization in Your Marketing Strategy

Voice search has come a long way since its error-prone beginnings. It used to be the star of funny home videos because of its propensity to deliver hilariously inaccurate search results. It’s a preferred way to get fast and accurate information about local businesses and products online. It’s also becoming an integral part of our daily lives, thanks to advancements in natural language processing and machine learning. Modern voice search systems have greatly improved their understanding of context and nuances in speech, making them much more reliable for tasks such as finding directions, setting reminders, and even managing smart home devices. As technology continues to evolve, voice search is expected to become even more sophisticated, offering personalized experiences and seamless interactions across various platforms. If you’re not making room for voice search optimization in your marketing strategy, it’s time for a change. Start now to optimize the content and data on your website and elsewhere so it will appear in verbal search results. Doing so will get more eyes on your business so you can grow your customer base and your profits. Why Voice Search Optimization Matters The goal of voice search optimization is to make it easier for customers to find your business when conducting spoken searches on their mobile devices. The rising popularity of voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri makes it more important than ever to focus on voice search optimization. The way people speak and the way people type tend to be very different. Therefore, you need to make sure your content uses phrases and keywords people are more likely to utter when using voice search assistants. Doing so can boost your chances of being found by relevant customers. Voice search optimization is important for all businesses. But it’s especially vital for brick-and-mortar industries that rely primarily on local customers, such as legal services, retail, hospitality, and entertainment. Shoppers are more likely to use verbal search options when they’re looking for location-based results for these types of services. How to Optimize Your Content for Voice Searches To lead ready-to-buy shoppers right to your door, make it easier for them to find your business when conducting verbal searches. Whether you’re a plumber developing your website or a lawyer creating a law firm digital marketing plan, voice search optimization should be a major focus. Here are some tried-and-true techniques for optimizing your content for voice search: Prioritize Local SEO It’s estimated that around 46% of Google searches include localized terms. If you’re not properly optimized for localized searches, your business is unlikely to show up in relevant search results. That means potential customers are more likely to visit competitors who are better at prioritizing local SEO terms in their content. You can use a variety of techniques to improve your local voice search results. Start by creating a Google Business Profile and regularly updating it to ensure it’s always accurate. Next, add location-specific pages to your website. Make sure these pages include location keywords such as your state, city, town, and surrounding cities. You should also maintain an active presence on local social media pages so nearby residents become familiar with your brand. Aim at The Long-Tail Keywords People are likelier to use highly specific phrases when conducting verbal digital searches. Therefore, you should target long-tail keywords when optimizing your content. Long-tail keywords comprise phrases people often use when searching for goods or services online. For example, “divorce lawyer in San Diego, California” is one example of a specific, localized, long-term keyword. These types of keywords tend to be highly specific and have less competition and search volumes than any short-tail keywords. However, they also tend to have higher conversion rates because shoppers who use them are typically ready to buy. If you’re serious about targeting local voice searches, use a good saturation of long-tail keywords in the overall content. Optimize for Mobile Mobile optimization and voice search optimization are two peas in the same pod. They should both be given equal consideration and weight in any adept digital marketing plan. Consider the fact that over half of global internet traffic comes from mobile devices. If you’re not targeting a mobile audience, you’re almost certainly missing out on traffic and potential sales. To optimize for mobile, make sure your website loads correctly and rapidly on mobile devices. You should also prioritize responsive design, which adapts instantly to whatever device a visitor is using, whether it be a smartphone, desktop, or tablet. Responsive design reduces bounce rates and ensures visitors have a good experience on your site. Use the Right Language When people type out their online searches, they tend to be as concise as possible. For example, they might type “Las Vegas barber” when searching for a local place to get a haircut. But if that same person used their smartphone’s voice search feature instead, they would probably use more grammatically correct language. For example, they might say, “What’s the best barber in Las Vegas?” or “What are the best places in Las Vegas to get a haircut?” Often, people ask long questions when using voice search features or AI assistants. To excel at voice search optimization, anticipate the language and phrases people are most likely to use when searching for your business offerings. Then, create content that provides the best answer to their questions in a natural, conversational way. The Future Of Voice Search The voice search is more like having your own personal assistant right at your fingertips. Or maybe I should say, Voice range! This is bringing a huge change in the way we interact with the technology. Thus, the future looks much more exciting. More and more people are using their voice search to look for different information, services, and products. The answers are always ready for you, and they are fulfilling your requests. As voice technologies continue to improve, we can expect more innovation and intuitive ways to keep interacting with all of our devices. So, if you are planning to stay ahead of the curve, it’s time to reimagine how this voice search can benefit your business. From optimizing the website content to creating various voice-activated experiences, voice search is going to bring a lot more opportunities in the world of voice search marketing. Conclusion Voice search has evolved from a seldom-used tool to a major player in the marketing world. If you’re not currently optimizing your content for voice searches, it’s not too late to start. Use the tips above to make sure your website and content are positioned to help you capture more traffic from voice search queries.Read More... How To Foolproof Your Digital Marketing Strategy? 4 Ways to Use Mobile Marketing in a B2B Marketing Strategy 4 points to consider when creating a Great Content Marketing Strategy

How to Deal With Debt By Doing Business Marketing Smartly?