If you can see your business goals, it will be easier to achieve them In 2016, I cut out and taped a magazine spread from AAA Living magazine to my home office door. Which, after the laughter dies down a bit, I’ll explain. The photo is of a 38-ish-foot sailboat sailing over crystal clear blue waters. You can see the shadow of the boat on the sand UNDER the water. It’s a magical thing. The title of the article is…
What I learned coaching startups in emerging markets (and how it applies to startups here in the United States) by Ann Siegle I mentored three startup companies in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia in 2018 and early 2019. Our team, headed by a longtime international development & venture capitalist was comprised of 17 members. Some, like me, coached multiple startups enrolled in the program, and most had expertise in diverse areas of business, from high tech to bioengineering to…
Staying organized with your marketing is probably one of the most important things about marketing. The first step to achieving your business goals is by organizing them. For example, you might want to increase monthly sales or capture more email subscribers. When you organize around your goals, you have given yourself the power to achieve them. Staying organized allows you to be more productive and consistent with your work. It ensures you’re getting the most out of every effort you…
Which social media platform works for your business? When looking at analytics and conversions on your web site, consider the WHOLE path, not just the last touch. Looking at analytics on your website, particularly sales conversion metrics, you might be tempted to say “look at that, Pinterest drives twice the traffic as Facebook, but we get 4X the sales from Facebook visitors, none from Pinterest; we should drop Pinterest!” If you have a physical store, customers can walk in the…
Engaging content is the core of success when you are building your business. It increases brand awareness, encourages consumer engagement, and will move your website to the top of Google. So, how can you make all this possible? A content calendar is a perfect start to managing your content strategy. There are a couple of different types of content calendars. For example, a social media content calendar allows you to plan and strategize content for all your social media channels.…
One of our followers responded to our email asking “what’s your biggest marketing challenge” with this: “how can I be sure I’m not bothering my followers too much with my marketing?” Let’s dispel a few myths: you are intruding on your customer’s lives. If you’re a small business and someone liked your business feed on Instagram, or joined your Facebook group or signed up on your e-mail list, they WANT to hear from you. In fact, they want to hear…
Managing memberships for your association is one of your association’s critical functions. How and where should you manage member data in a world where your website is the hub of operations for your association? Online or offline? That’s the big question for associations. With most associations on their fifth or sixth web site iteration in the last decade or two, the ever-increasing sophistication of software tools for managing both members and association, the question comes up again and again. How…
My favorite local social media feed is a Facebook feed from a thrift store that is aligned with a Christian mission movement in our town. The store, called City Rescue Mission Upscale Thrift posts on Facebook several times a day, and it’s worth seeking out their posts when the algorithm doesn’t show them because they’re funny and engaging. Imagine that. Customers seek out your feed even when Facebook doesn’t show it. Most businesses try to be very professional with…
Why businesses need a website not just social media You shouldn’t rely entirely on social media platforms to build your business. This is a cautionary tale for entrepreneurs who are new to the game. If you’ve only ever known the social media we have now, you probably don’t know what lies ahead if you build your business exclusively on borrowed land. Like most businesses, you’re filling your Facebook feed with content, your Instagram feed with photos, stories and inspirational quotes…
