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Marketing
Newsletter Audit Checklist
Whether you’ve been doing an email newsletter for a while or are just getting started, there are always ways to improve. Not all of these items will apply to every business’ email newsletter but include as many as are appropriate for yours. Link to view the … Keep reading…
The Biggest Mistake You Can Make in Your Small Business Newsletter
It happened again today. I am blown away by how often I see this particular mistake. I received an email newsletter from a business I wasn’t familiar with. That’s OK but I wanted to go to their website to investigate more. And there was not one … Keep reading…
How to Start Building Your First Email List
Like many things, list building seems pretty straight-forward… until you start. You may expect it to be tedious work of copy/pasting and spreadsheets and looking things up online. Yes, it likely involves some of that but I get asked a lot of questions about who … Keep reading…
Annoyed With All the COVID Emails? 3 Reasons to Communicate
We’re all getting inundated with COVID emails – yes – but I’m glad the companies I do business with are paying attention and communicating their plans. I need to know that my web host and other service providers are taking action to be able to … Keep reading…
What Are Your Small Business Blogging Goals?
If your answer to the title of this post is “increase sales”, you’ve got that part right. But you should also realize that there’s no direct path from one to the other. You don’t start a blog and immediately make more sales – although I … Keep reading…
Try a Newsletter Full of Tidbits
Tidbit is defined as “a small and particularly interesting item of gossip or information.” (Just in case you’re Canadian and were thinking about chocolate Timbits.) The most successful newsletters I’ve seen are full of tidbits. A tidbit is short, delightful and easily digested (just like … Keep reading…
All of Your Words are Important
But all of our marketing words are not important in every context. We have to pick and choose. When I first started my business almost 15 years ago, I remember struggling with the distinction between features and benefits, and with talking about my potential clients’ … Keep reading…
What Name Are You Using?
This morning I deleted an email from a good friend and past client. I didn’t realize it was from that wonderful lady because it didn’t show up in my inbox from her name or her company’s name. I only dug it out of my trash … Keep reading…
Good Marketing Practices Wear Out
Is this you… ? When you watch TV, you can’t wait for the ads. On YouTube, you let every ad play fully. You open your email inbox eagerly every morning, anticipating all the emails with this week’s sales or next week’s webinars. You read the … Keep reading…
The Difference Between Editing and Proofing
We often use the words editing and proofing interchangeably but there is a significant difference. If you’re not aware of it, you could be failing at both. Editing is big picture or ‘zoomed out’; proofing is detailed or ‘zoomed in’. Editing is about the overall … Keep reading…
Being Seen = Being Remembered
Isn’t it amazing that it’s now so easy to keep in touch with people we met years ago? Social media has allowed me to reconnect with old friends and work colleagues from long before social media existed. (Yes, I’m that old.) It has also allowed … Keep reading…
Does Your Writing Pass the $1-A-Word Test?
If you are looking for a quick and certain way of giving your words more impact, look no further than your purse or wallet. Take a look at the last thing you wrote. It doesn’t matter if it’s a letter, email, report, newsletter, web content … Keep reading…
Being Found vs. Getting Found
Did you realize there’s a difference between being found and getting found? The words suggest a subtle difference but, really, there’s a huge distinction when it comes to online marketing. Many new and experienced small business owners make critical — often costly — mistakes by … Keep reading…
What’s Your Stumbling Block? Blogging Survey
Ever since I wrote this article — Where Do You Get Stuck? — a couple of years ago, I’ve been on a mission to come up with solutions to content creation obstacles. coming up with ideas adapting your ideas for writing starting to write finishing … Keep reading…
Get Read to Get Ranked
Years ago when I first started doing email newsletters, each new client had questions about writing the introduction to their very first issue. Eventually, I prepared a tip sheet for new clients and also posted the info on my blog thinking it might be useful … Keep reading…
Editing Checklist for Your Marketing Content
Whenever you write something, it’s always a good idea to wait a while before editing – later the same day or the next day. You’ll have a fresh perspective and it’ll be easier to pick out what can be improved upon. Here are a few … Keep reading…
How to Make Smart Marketing Decisions
Small business owners can spend a lot of time and money on marketing initiatives. Sometimes we’re successful and sometimes not so much. I think of marketing as an experiment because – really – there are no magic bullets. There are best practices, there is good … Keep reading…
Being Sneaky About Email
When I see the words “try this” along with the words “your email subscribers” in a headline, I get a little antsy. The email I received today included “sneaky-favorite email sequences” in the body text. Here’s the thing, if you’re delivering value to your readers … Keep reading…
What Are You NOT?
Every small business owner struggles with their messaging from time to time and this is especially true when developing content for a new or refreshed website. I – and you – can sit and make a long list of words and phrases that describe the … Keep reading…
Content Template – Share a Concept
You just had an a-ha moment – by thinking, researching, reading, discussing, learning, teaching, experimenting, or problem-solving. And now you’re anxious to share that new insight with your readers who will also benefit from it. Not sure how to organize your ideas and get writing? Download … Keep reading…
We Can’t Do It All So Let’s Choose Wisely
My good friend and business collaborator, Anita Kirkbride, has been doing keynotes recently about how to embrace being #flawsome. It’s a hard lesson for someone like me with perfectionistic tendencies. But around mid-May, I made a conscious decision to let a few things suffer so … Keep reading…
Doing What You Can Actually Accomplish Trumps Perfection
Social Media Day Halifax 2019 was an amazing day of learning and networking. I’ve been spending hours on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram reliving the day through other people’s posts… laughing, crying, and feeling the love. (Cue the angles… er… angels singing.) There is so much … Keep reading…
Email is the Alternate to SEO
What’s a goal of business blogging that will never be a goal of email marketing? Search engine optimization (SEO), of course. For email, it’s all about subject line optimization. (Is SLO a ‘thing’?) Crafting a compelling email subject line can achieve better and more immediate … Keep reading…
BE the Rabbit Hole
You know when you’ve been online for a while – scrolling, reading, tapping – and then realize the time? We may feel good (because we learned something), bad (because something pushed a hot button), or indifferent (what level on HayDay?). Regardless, we still think of … Keep reading…