Contributed Post | Mike McRitchie | Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer | Telecom Marketing Content Writer

The ABCs Of Helping Your Business Gain Online Sales

June 20, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

The exponential growth of online business has been nothing short of phenomenal. Whether it’s migrating a traditional operation to the world wide web or starting a new company from scratch doesn’t matter. Enjoying a slice of that online action will undoubtedly sound very attractive.

It’s a very competitive playground, and you need to ensure that the venture is powered by good production and suitable pricing. As far as the quest for online customers is concerned, though, success can be achieved in just three easy steps.

Here’s all you need to know.

Appearance

First impressions count for everything. Your online business may only get a few seconds to create a positive impact, so it’s imperative that you grab this opportunity with both hands. Otherwise, your hopes of winning their custom may be dead in the water.

The branding essentials of a logo and catchy name are just the start. Hiring a professional web design company to create a clean, bold, and easily navigated website may be the smartest decision of all. When the content and layout are right, this will become your most powerful asset by a distance.

Consumers have huge expectations, which is why you must also consider the load times and other features. When those elements are in place and supported by a strong SEO and social media strategy, your brand will instantly stand out from the crowd.

Bond

Visibility and professionalism are essential factors. Nevertheless, the key to creating an audience revolves around establishing a bond. It may sound a little alien, but accepting that you cannot please everyone is arguably the most significant breakthrough of all.

Billions of online transactions are completed each day, so even niche brands can build huge audience numbers. Knowing your place in the market influences everything. Those elements can range from the tone of your ads to choosing which social platforms deserve your attention. Those winning interactions can soon edge prospective clients to their first purchases.

People buy people, and the significance of strong relationships cannot be emphasized enough. Creating the type of business that generates the most success is ultimately what will leave you smiling. Make the most of those interactions and insights, and this should become an easier task.

Credentials

Trust is one of the most important words in business, not least when dealing with online operations. If a prospective client has any reason to doubt the quality of your products or service, they will take their custom elsewhere. Therefore, putting those concerns to bed is crucial.

Customer reviews and testimonials can go a long way to getting conversions over the line. However, it’s equally important to ensure that the business is secured. A breach of data could quickly destroy your reputation, and rebuilding it may prove to be impossible. Prevention is always the best form of protection.

Transactions need to be completed using encrypted payment gateways. Meanwhile, clear contact details and a responsive customer care team will help win new clients and keep the old ones happy. Once you’ve built that solid fanbase, the company’s future will look brighter than ever.

Great Business Ideas For Aspiring And Creative Freelancers

June 20, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

If you’re a creative person then it can often feel as if there aren’t many job opportunities out there for you. But that’s not the case – you just need to rethink your approach to your career. Freelancing can really open the door for you if you’re struggling to find work that allows you to utilize your skills. Here are some great business ideas for aspiring and creative freelancers.

Blogging

There’s a lot of money to be made in blogging. We mentioned this in another post, but it’s all about creating the right content or selling the right product. Any and every blog can be monetized. And if you love the idea of writing about your favorite topics or posting pictures of your travels then this could be the perfect business idea for you. This is definitely one of the most popular outlets for freelance writers, but you need to work hard to turn it into a profitable source of income.

Building a following is the route to success. Not only will you stand a better chance of earning money from adverts if you increase your website traffic but you’ll also stand a better chance of getting noticed by the right people. Companies sponsor relevant blogs with big followings because it’s an opportunity to sell their products. If you’re a popular beauty blogger then you might be offered a sponsorship deal by a business that sells makeup, for example. The point is that there are many ways to earn money from blogging if you’re passionate about the idea of creating your own personal writing space.

Crafting

Another great business for aspiring and artistic freelancers is crafting. If you love to craft homemade things such as jewelry and vases then there’s a market that’s dying to buy your incredible creations. Thanks to the influx of crafting marketplaces such as Etsy and Bonanza, people selling their own handmade fashion pieces and quirky home decor can make a lot of money online. Perhaps you even love to craft (or want to craft) something a little more ambitious, such as furnishings. Of course, you might want to check out https://www.weldingoutfitter.com/collections/welding-jackets for welding jackets if your home business is going to involve woodwork and machinery. It’s important that you prioritize safety and professionalism if you’re creating a crafting business. You need to prove that your unique creations are more valuable than store-bought alternatives. If you can do that then you’ll make a lot of money from what is simply a creative outlet.

Web developing

As mentioned at https://theworkathomewife.com/72-ideas-for-freelance-jobs-from-home/, designing websites is a great option for freelancers. Not only is it one of the most profitable industries for freelancers in the modern age but it’s also a highly creative career to pursue. If you can code and design a professional website then you’ll also have clients knocking at your door to buy your services. There are always new individuals and businesses who need websites to be made for them. It’s a well-paid job that you can do from the comfort of your own home, and it gives you the opportunity to design some very creative (as long as you meet the requirements of the client).

Factors That Affect The Productivity Of Your Employees

June 20, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Every successful business owner understands the importance of productivity in the workplace. It helps to keep your customers happy, which generally leads to an increase in sales, it saves you money, because you’re getting more done in less time, and it keeps morale high, as your employees benefit from the increased profits and you have less to be stressed about. Your employees are human beings, so it’s natural for them to feel unproductive now and then, but you should still do all you can to prevent it. Here are four factors you should take into account if you want to improve employee productivity.

1) The Tools

If you want your employees to be as productive as possible, then you need to make sure that they have the proper tools to get the job done. If they don’t, then they’re going to struggle, which, of course, means that the tasks they have will take a lot longer to complete. You should also ensure that you maintain and upgrade tech tools, like computers and smartphones, when needed. Many companies fail to do this in a bid to save money, but slow devices will slow down your employees, which means you end up wasting money anyway.

2) The Workload

Delegating work to your employees is part of being the boss, but that doesn’t mean that they should have to handle every task you don’t want or need to complete. Giving your staff a huge pile of work to do each day is only ever going to cause stress, which will have a negative impact on the productivity of the entire team. Instead, you should consider which tasks aren’t as important, and outsource these tasks to freelancers and other companies. This will free up time for your employees to focus on the more essential work.

3) The Workspace

You might think that your office is a great place to work, but, chances are, there is something wrong with it that affects the productivity of your employees. You should speak to your team and see what they have to say. Once you have some insight, you can find ways to address the issues. This could mean changing something as small as the colour of the walls, or it could mean finding a new space and carrying out a complete commercial fit out. This, of course, would be a lot of work, but it’s worth it if it improves your working environment.

4) The Attitudes

If your employees view you or your company in a negative way, then they’re not going to be as productive as those who love their job and are completely happy. This means that it’s important for you to do what you can to improve your employees’ attitudes towards work. You should take an interest in their lives, offer praise and rewards for meeting targets, and just generally show that you care about them, rather than just what they can do for you. All of this takes very little time and effort, but can really give your team a boost.

If you want to improve the productivity of your employees, then make sure that you address the four factors listed above.

Why Is It so Important to Secure Your Business Digitally?

June 20, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

When running a business, there are hundreds of threats that could put your business at risk. There are physical threats such as natural disasters, there are employee threats such as toxic behavior, and there are also digital threats such as cybercriminals.

Most of the threats to our business are well-documented, but cybercriminals constantly change their tactics which means it’s incredibly hard to be well-prepared against them or predict their next move.

This is why it’s so important to secure your business digitally.

Vulnerabilities

We all rely on different types of software to make our lives easier, but did you know that software typically has vulnerabilities, hence why we constantly need to update them? These vulnerabilities can easily be exploited by smart cybercriminals and your data will quickly be compromised.

Attackers

If you’ve got a popular brand with a good reputation, then you’re going to be under attack from hackers. Whether they’re trying to hold your data for ransom or steal private information, they’re going to use all the tools at their disposal to break into your network.

Employee Faults

People can easily be tricked into opening viruses on their computer or infected emails if they’re not trained to detect them. Luckily, there’s plenty of software available to help counteract those threats, lowering the chances of an employee fault bringing down your entire business.

Take a look at the infographic below for more information on the importance of cybersecurity and how it affects your business as a whole.

Infographic By: EPC Group

To Buy Or Not To Buy? The Big Marketing Question.

June 20, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

As a small business owner, you’ve probably spent a long time browsing the web looking for marketing ideas and new ways to get your name out into the world. In your search, you will have found loads of resources, giving you a good idea of what needs to be done when you’re starting out with this work, all while improving your chances of success. Of course, though, even with this learning, there will still be temptations along the way. Along with free tools, there are loads of paid services out there which promise to give this side of your business a boost. All are not creating equally, and this post is going to be taking you through as many as possible to give you an idea of what you should be buying to support your marketing.

Social Media

Over the last decade or so, social media has had a huge impact on the world of business. Nowadays, without this tool, it is impossible for a company to get the word out about their work, making it a great place to start. The platforms themselves are free, making them great for those with loads of free time. Along with this, though, you can also buy varying kinds of support, and of them simply aren’t worth it.

What’s Worth It?

Influencers: It can take years to grow an Instagram or Facebook account to the kind of size which will help your company. To get around this, it’s becoming common to hire someone who already has a sizable following to post on your behalf. Known as influencer marketing, this has proven to be very successful in almost every instance, making it a sure bet when you’re getting started. You can pay practically whatever you want for this, with higher follower counts demanding more money.

Content Creation: Putting together the content for posts can be very hard when you don’t know the site which you’re trying to use. Thankfully, there are loads of companies out there with the skills to handle this for you, creating all of the content for your profiles. This can be a little bit costly, but will be worth it once you see the benefits of quality posts, boosting your online presence without much effort. Of course, to make this even easy, you can often request a schedule to tell you when to post.

What’s Not?

Promoted Posts: Most social media platforms have started to find ways to make money out of businesses using their tools. This usually comes in the form of promoted posts. Promising to provide a set level of engagement on your posts, they often fail to provide what they are offering when you first set it up. Unfortunately, users don’t like to see a post which is so blatantly an advert, putting them off the idea of liking it. This is something which the companies themselves are working to solve.

Followers: Click farm and robot generated users are very common on websites like Youtube and Facebook. Giving a business the power to fake the amount of people following them for a very small fee, a lot of people go down this route. In reality, though, this will rarely provide much benefit, and could even see you account being banned, as you are breaking the terms of the site. Likewise, users will notice this sort of behavior, damaging your reputation and opening the doors to ridicule.

Website

Giving businesses a gateway to the outside world, a website can be equally as powerful as social media. Of course, though, it has to be used correctly, and this can be a challenge, leaving loads of companies with sites which are poorly made. Overcoming this is a simple matter of paying the right people. Below, you can find some examples of the services to use and not to use when improving the website side of your marketing.

What’s Worth It?

SEO: Getting a website onto the front pages of websites like Google can be quite the challenge, with even seasoned veterans struggling with certain websites. An SEO company can solve this issue for you in its entirety, handling the structure of your site, research, and managing it all going into the future. This sort of work is very valuable to someone starting out with a website for the first time, giving you the chance to focus on the side of things which you’re excited about working on.

Search Engine Marketing: There are other ways to pay to get good results with services like Google, and SEM is one of the best ways to approach it. Google AdWords is one of the most popular tools for this. Anyone can use it, as long as you set up an account, making it nice and easy to create online adverts which don’t cost a fortune. The keyword research done by your SEO professional can be the best tool at your disposal when it comes to figuring out how to structure your ads.

Link Building: Not a lot of people realize how powerful a link or two on someone else’s website can be for their own. There are loads of companies out there which can arrange for this to be done for you, utilizing popular blogs and information-based sites to provide a strong backlink. While this sort of approach can be achieved on your own, the quality of the site you choose is important, and it will be worth going for something with a significantly higher domain authority than the site you’re working on.

What’s Not?

Business Listings: Sites which offer to present your business to customers are often a waste of time. Unfortunately, most users won’t go to these sorts of places anymore, opting to use options like social media instead. This can make it hard to get much use out of a listing, especially when you’re paying for it. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but it will be worth being careful to avoid putting money into something which isn’t worth it.

Marketing Materials

Flyers, business cards, and loads of other physical marketing tools can be bought for your business. You can get your hands on examples with your own logo without having to go too far, and this can often be handled completely over the web. To help you to avoid investing in the wrong options, you can find some examples of the good and bad below, along with the help you can get in the process.

What’s Worth it?

Business Cards/Flyers: While these are possibly the most basic options on the list, they serve as the perfect combination for most businesses. Giving you the chance to reach people on both a direct and a passive level, while also looking very professional, this is a great route to go down at any level. You can find printing which will suit most budgets for flyers, and designing them is nice and easy.

A Graphic Designer: Only having a couple of pieces of printed material will often save enough money to afford the skilled support a graphic designer. Websites like Freelancer can make it easy to get your hands on people to do this work for you, resulting in much higher quality products than you would have had without them. It is easy to tell when a DIY business card or flyer has been made, and this is a look which most businesses will want to avoid, even with a little bit of cost.

What’s Not?

Freebies: A lot of online resources tout the power of giving away freebies as an incentive your potential customers. This can cost a lot of money, though, and it doesn’t guarantee any sort of engagement, often getting poor results for companies which can’t afford to put enough merchandise into people’s hands. If you want to take an approach like this, it can be better to wait until you have some money behind you, as this will enable you to give out a lot more, improving your chances of call backs.

Mail Outs: Unlike online advertising, it’s impossible to target the right kind of people when you’re spending money on mail outs, instead relying on a small portion of the people who get your letter to use your business. Of course, there are some exceptions to this, and it could work as some sort of promotion. Aside from this, most businesses will struggle to sell themselves effectively using this expensive method, making it far from worth it in a lot of cases.

Hopefully, this post will inspire you to start working to improve the time you put into choosing the services which help you to market your company. While it is easy to be harsh to those which are less valuable, they still all have their place. A big part of marketing can often be finding a route which other people aren’t using. Achieving a goal like this will be hard, especially when some aren’t being used for a reason, though you should be able to find someone to help with it.