1. Provide an Elite Website Experience

Watch any streaming video or visit any website and you are likely to see an advertisement for careers in UX design. It is one of the fastest growing professions in the world, and for good reason. In the age of ecommerce, your website’s UX can be the difference between securing a profitable, lifelong client or having a visitor leave your page in a matter of seconds, never to be thought of again.

Even with the UX explosion, businesses are still scrambling and struggling to optimize their UX. While creating a professional, aesthetically pleasing website is important, it is only part of the equation. Some other factors include:

• Page loading time – slow loading pages irk online shoppers and are one of the greatest contributors to an elevated bounce rate
• Customer service – while many people like shopping on websites so that they can browse at their own leisure, other customers have dire questions that need immediate responses. Having easily accessible customer service channels is critical to ensuring customer satisfaction
• Simple home pages – less is usually more when designing a homepage. Visitors should be able to instantly land on your page, process the information, and determine your brand and value proposition. Use images, fonts, logos, and catchphrases in place of ponderous text passages

While there is no shortage of web building platforms on the market today, the reality is that most people don’t have the skills to design a premium site that creates a UX that will stand out. Therefore, partnering with a professional web design company is likely to be one of the most profitable investments your business can make.

2. Carefully Manage Digital Assets

Although digital marketing has made marketing easier and more affordable in many respects, it has also taken some of the control away from businesses. With a wider pool of resellers, remote employees, and affiliates, marketing messages can become a bit muddled, and brands can become watered down.

To help avoid this pitfall, it is worthwhile to invest in a digital marketing asset management tool for your business. A DAM program can help your business create a unified marketing message and compile all marketing content in a convenient location, making it accessible to all sales reps and other parties who are spreading the word about your company.

3. Regularly Post Professional Content

Long form content is one of the best ways to boost SEO for a business. By carefully choosing the correct keywords, ascertaining trending queries in your business niche, and crafting professional content to fill the need for answers, businesses can boost the number of organic visitors that arrive at their website. No question is too small or insignificant to be answered online. The more helpful answers that you provide, the more you become viewed as an authority in your field, which will result in more views, shares, and recommendations—all of which further boost SEO.

And don’t limit your regular posting to blog and vlog content. Many businesses know that social media is critical to business success in 2022 and create accounts with all of the trending platforms. However, they aren’t able to stay consistent with their posting, and their audience never grows. Consistent, quality posting is the key to social media success. Just like any other item on your daily or weekly business to-do list, be sure to fill your social media accounts with top-notch media, trending keywords, and relevant text captions.

4. Join the Online Conversation

Posting to your own website, blog, or social media account isn’t the only way to get your voice recognized as an authority online. Be sure to check relevant blogs, forums, and social media accounts in your industry and add your two cents.

While filling up competitors’ comments with spammy or salesy links is probably a great way to get blocked, if you can offer thoughtful insight to online discussions in your niche, you can get your business in front of a new set of eyes. One particularly interesting concept is to explore the realm of broken link building. Peruse online content in your field and see if any of the links in the content direct the visitor back to a dead, expired, or blocked page. If so, contact the site administrator and let them know that your business would be a great option to update the broken link. This can allow existing traffic to click through and land on your site, growing traffic and boosting SEO.

5. Don’t Neglect Email Marketing

Many email marketing campaigns fail due to poor execution. They send out mass emails that have little to no chance of getting opened, get marked as spam, and all subsequent messages trigger the recipient’s inbox filter.

However, when properly executed, no digital marketing medium can match email’s 3600% return on investment. Keep your email campaigns focused on clients who have voluntarily furnished their information to your business. Send them messages on their birthdays on other special occasions. Make your email content professional and full of meaningful offers. When you do this, the fruits of email marketing will be realized. 

Use These 5 Digital Marketing Tips and Watch Profits Soar

There is no doubt that digital marketing is a competitive field in 2022. However, with the proper planning and execution, it is more than possible to separate yourself from the crowd. Providing an elite UX, carefully managing digital assets, regularly posting authoritative content, joining the online conversation, and refocusing your email campaigns are 5 helpful tips that can optimize your digital marketing efforts and increase profits online.

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Influential Women – Women’s History Month

One of the SEO blogs I read frequently is Jeff Shipman’s Semify. He reminds us, in his article “Nevertheless, She Marketed: Celebrating Influential Women in Digital Marketing” that last month was Women’s History Month. This event takes place each March and to mark the upcoming International Women’s Day.

We at DFW Website Designers agree with Semify in honoring women equality. We also want to pay tribute to the trailblazers who have empowered and inspired us to bring our best selves to work and to fight for equality, representation, and recognition. We join Semify in promoting equity in pay and promotional opportunities. As I cheer my daughter, I encourage you to learn and read Jeff’s piece. Here is a part reprinted with permission. Enjoy!

Influential Women – Marketing to Women Vs. Marketing By Women

Marketing and women have had a sordid history, to put it lightly. Old advertisements from the 1920s through the 1960s are infamous for their put-together homemaker slant — a concept that feels downright offensive when viewed through a modern lens. Most advertisements directed toward women were geared toward cooking, cleaning, or maintaining one’s appearance. Even as it became more commonplace for women to join the workforce, the emphasis was on homemaking and embodying what marketers felt was the feminine ideal.

Although today’s advertisements may be significantly less misogynistic in tone, 91% of women still say they feel misunderstood by marketers and advertisers. What’s more, men appear at a far greater frequency in advertisements than women do — and when women are shown, they’re more likely to be young, wearing revealing clothing, and shown in the kitchen. They’re much less likely to be portrayed as intelligent or shown as leaders.

Influential Women are the Majority of Consumers

That’s especially significant because women make up the majority of consumers and drive 70% to 80% of all purchasing. Data has also shown that women are also more likely to pay attention to and engage with advertisements than men are, making them the ideal target audience for marketing campaigns. If only more businesses really got it right, they’d be set up for success.

A lot of that might come down to greater representation within the marketing sector itself. Fortunately, things have taken a turn for the better in that area. Although it was relatively rare to see women in leadership positions in marketing agencies even as recently as the 1980s, women now outnumber men in strategic planning and media agencies while achieving equal representation in account management. Data from 2019 showed that women made up 51.3% of employees in advertising, public relations, and other related areas, while a Forbes report from 2016 found that women held approximately 60% of professional positions within agencies. And according to a recent ANA study, the number of women in marketing leadership positions has reached new heights. Data reveals that 52% of senior-level marketers and 47% of CMOs at companies surveyed were women. However, ethnic diversity in marketing remains low, which is a huge concern at a time when the fight for equality is at the forefront of American minds.

Influential Women Dominate Social Media Management

Another area of marketing where women dominate? Social media management and influencer marketing. Zippia, a careers resource website, estimates that 57.3% of social media managers are women. And while the pay gap certainly does still exist, it’s clear that women are definitely represented in this sphere. Influencer marketing, which is projected to become a $10 billion industry by 2022, is known for being driven by women — a fact that has often resulted in misogynistic attitudes toward the industry as a whole.

Women essentially outpace men in terms of social media usage on virtually every platform and commonly consult social media prior to making a purchase. Since women use more products than men — and products like apparel, personal care items, and food are commonly advertised on social media platforms — they’re a natural fit for both purchasing and promoting. They’re also more likely to share personal information in their posts to connect with others. Because authentic storytelling is an essential part of becoming a successful influencer, it makes sense that women would do well. It’s also worth noting that social media influencers have become modern-day models who take on the work of ad agencies, photographers, and talent. As such, women earn three times as much as men on sponsored social media posts.

It’s clear from these statistics that a lot of progress has been made. That said, the presence of women in marketing isn’t actually a novel idea.

Read more of Jeff Shipman’s full article by clicking here.

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Of course, back then we were all green and we were all doing social media WRONG. We all kept following people who could buy our products and we were chasing them down with “Buy Now”. How about now. Now. Now. NOW! Buy NOW!

It’s been almost a decade that we have been helping small businesses with both websites and social media, and it is slowly starting to work again. But not the same way we originally thought.

Forget About Selling, Focus on Educating

Social media is a terrible tool to sell through. But it is a great tool to help educate a potential audience. Do a good job in that area, and yes, they might follow you back and buy from you. This is probably the hardest element for most business owners to learn. You gain nothing by trying to sell, but everything by providing endless amounts of useful education.

Once you totally abandon the idea of selling and REALLY focus on good content, magic starts to happen. This concept is true with podcasting, blogging, email marketing, newsletters and of course social media.

Nobody Likes to Be Sold to Through Social Media

Social media started out as platforms to be social on. You know social, as in connecting with people. People you went to college with, who like Star Trek movies, who love Taylor Swift. Ok maybe not Taylor Swift, but you get the gist. People don’t normally wake up and hop on social media to find a gutter company or by siding. Or even alas, to buy websites.

So stop selling, and start educating.

Let me explain how our business works to give you an idea on how we use social media.

People Connect with People, then Buy from People

I sell one of the best website solutions around. But in my area, so do about 500-600 other companies. I have yet to gain a new client that said, “We came to you because you were the best solution around.” I’m being honest and transparent here. People buy from us because they connect personally with one of us. We become friends. We become common associates. We connect.

When I ask why people buy website from us, they usually say something like, “You were prompt in your service.” “You came out to visit us at our location, and you seemed nice to work with.” “You were very friendly and someone who seemed professional and we could trust.” “You gave us lots of business advice that had nothing to do with websites.”
Wait. Stop the presses, let’s re-read that last sentence again. “You gave us lots of business advice that had nothing to do with websites.” Wait that doesn’t make sense. People bought websites from us because of additional business advice?

That’s it. That’s the secret sauce. We share our lives on social media. My last social media only lead came from one of personal Twitter account. I have a twitter account called, FredsDaily where I tweet about my life hour by hour every single day for the past three years! It’s nuts, it’s crazy, it’s boring, but I am putting myself out there..

Social Media is a Lead Generator

So here’s my point. The majority of people buy websites from us because they connect with us on an individual basis. We’re real people behind the scenes doing real work in the website space. So with that said, you need to educate about your craft, but be real and connectable. One of my favorite business podcasters and YouTubers is Pat Flynn. He teaches through a podcast called Smart Passive Income. But look at this video he released this year about him being robbed. My point is he is real and personable.

I was deeply moved by this video. I felt for Pat. He’s a real person. I connect with him. I buy his books. (Go buy his book “Superfans”.)

So educate about your business. If you need help, we’ll you know who to call.

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1. Who they spend their time with,
2. What they read, and
3. What they listen too in their car.

For the purpose of this post, we’re going to zero in on the last one… “What they listen too in their car.” I discovered this idea back in January of 2018. I learned that most successful business people don’t listen to the radio in their car, they listen to books on CDs, motivational or sales programs, or business podcasts.

What are Business Podcasts, & Why Should I Listen to Them

Business Podcasts are a video or audio channels that you can subscribe too and listen or watch on your phone or computer. Like television or radio, you can listen to them at your leisure and usually, they continue episodes every day or week.

Think about this. For the past 18 months, I have stopped listening to the radio and have logged 500 business podcast hours in my car. Counting classroom and study time, that is the equivalent of a 4-year college degree, just by replacing the time you already spend in your vehicle.

As a business person, how can you afford to miss this educational opportunity? So where do you start? I’m so glad you asked…

3 Podcasts Every Persons Should Listen Too

1. Smart Passive Income, by Pat Flynn

Pat, has two outstanding podcasts and for a small business person, they are both great. But the single best podcast that has absolutely, totally, and completely changed my life, you got to dial into Smart Passive Income. Pat does a solo show or interviews business associates each Wednesday who are freakin’ killing it with ideas and practices in the business world. If you only listen to one podcast, this is the one you have to hear. I’ve listened to every single one of these, and it has been life-changing.

2. The Garyvee Audio Experience by Gary Vaynerchuk

While Gary’s language puts it all out there, I find this podcast to be right between your eyes dead on good advise. Gary throws lots of punches and tells it like it is. But if you want some honest pointed advise, then this podcast needs to be on your must-hear list.

3. Tim Ferriss Show, by Tim Ferriss

Tim, is another great podcast who interviews some of the greats. My favorite of his shows is his 2-hour interview of Seth Gordin.

So those are my favorite business podcasts. What are some of yours?

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Email lists are how you connect with your people. It is a great way to share your latest product, share tips, and tricks and ask questions of your audience.

Growing an email list doesn’t have to be overly complicated. I get it. It is a frightening proposition at first. Too many business owners it sounds, and as a result, they back burner the project. Today this post will take the fear of list building. To build a list effectively, you need just a few tools.

✓    A Website
✓    An email marketing tool
✓    An email sign up form

Before we dive in though, let’s have a little chat about logistics. There are quite a few steps to set up an email list, but once you have it done, it will be well worth it.

We will go into the steps in more depth below but here is an overview graphic for you.

There are a variety of options here to consider. If you are starting out list building, I would recommend that you consider MailChimp. They have a free choice for the first 2,000 subscribers to your list. They also make it super simple to sign up.

Step 1: Go here and sign up https://mailchimp.com/

Step 2: Create your first list

    2A: Click on Lists at the top left

    2B: Click on Create List on the right

    2C: Follow the prompts from MailChimp

The next step is to embed a sign-up form on your website. Fortunately, MailChimp (as do most email providers) give you a free embed form that you can place directly on your site.

Note: This is an excellent step in the process to outsource to your web developer, but you can do it yourself for sure.

How to Find the MailChimp Embed Form

Step 1: Log into MailChimp

Step 2: Click on Lists

Step 3: Click on the drop-down arrow on the far right of the form

Step 4: Click on signup forms

From here you can choose the Embedded forms options. You will want to copy the code and paste it into a page on your website.

Once you have finished, your email opt-in form should look similar to the one below.

Personally, I prefer something far more attractive, and this is why I use Thrive Leads to stylize my opt-in forms. Thrive Leads is a premium WordPress Plugin that costs $67 a year. It is quite powerful but will need to decide if you are ready to upgrade to such a tool.

I have a full in-depth review of the Thrive Leads here, along with tutorials on how to use it http://iteachblogging.com/thrive-leads/. With this tool, you can have an email opt-in form that looks something like this below.

Now that you have an idea of what is involved in creating an email list, I wanted to leave you with a few tips.

You need to provide readers with a reason to join your list. It is rarely as simple as: Sign Up Here! Those days are far over.

However, you can entice them with what is called a Content Upgrade. A content upgrade is merely a gift that the reader gets for signing up for your email list.

Great Content Upgrade Ideas

✓    Free PDF
✓    Free Video Series
✓    Free Ebook
✓    Free Coaching Call With You

Ok, so that is it. There is a bit of tech involved with creating and setting up an email list, but it is well worth it. If you do this and stay in touch with your subscribers the potential for business growth is there.

“You don’t want a huge list.  You want an engaged list….the gold isn’t in the list anymore, it’s in the engagement.”  ~Scott Stratten.

Featured Image: Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash

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Ok wait, mostly free because it still costs you time.

When is the last time that you used the Yellow Pages? I do not know about you but I honestly do not even know if I have one. I saw a truck in my neighborhood the other day with the rear door open. It was full of yellow pages and I got a huge feeling of dread come over me. I hate waste and I knew that if it got delivered to my house that it would go directly to my recycle bin. I saw all of this to remind you of the reality that we all know, people are searching for your business online. Oh and don’t forget that today, tonight at this moment people are searching for you on their phone.

If people are searching for your business online you best make sure that your business is there to be found.

Lucky for us there are plenty of places online to be found and below I am going to provide you with a list of a few places for you to list your business. Note that most everyone will want to charge you for better listings but that can add up. For now consider just listing your business as many places as you can for free. See if the free listings have any impact for you over the next six months and go from there. All of those small fees can start to add up over time.

Yellow Pages Online

Bing Places

Insider Pages

Local.com

Google Places

This is a short list of places but it is enough to get you headed in the right direction. The key factor is to make sure that your business bio and links all match up across each platform. You may want to take this opportunity to check in on all of your social media bios as well. Test your links and make sure that all of your descriptions match. Your business can be found online, it just may take a bit of work to get there.

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