Small biz marketing tips

A car GPS system with the caption, "How can you reach your customers if you don't know who (and where) they are?"

Marketing targeting: how to pick an audience that won’t waste your money

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else.” Meaning that, while it can be fun to get in the car and go on an adventure, directionless wandering doesn’t work well if you’re trying to meet a group of friends at a new restaurant for dinner reservations which are set for a specific date and time. Instead, it’s a better idea to plug the address into Google...

A wall of vintage advertisements, with the caption, "Think marketing doesn't work? You may be doing it wrong."

Marketing doesn’t work! Or so we’ve heard.

One of the more common things we hear when talking to business owners is, “I’ve tried marketing before and it just doesn’t work.” Other variations are, “I’ve done Facebook marketing before and it didn’t work”, “I’ve tried search marketing and it didn’t work”, “I’ve tried email marketing and it didn’t work”… you get the idea. And indeed, marketing ISN’T a magic cure-all that will instantly turn your business around, and so some of these comments definitely have a kernel of...

A runner against the sunset, with the caption, "Wanna bring in new customers consistently? Approach your marketing like getting into shape."

What new year’s resolutions and marketing shouldn’t have in common.

The weekend after Thanksgiving I went for my normal morning run in the woods near my house. From my perspective, just another run on just another morning. But, unlike most mornings, the woods were full of runners that didn’t run there much. Or, like, ever. First, good for them. Running is an awesome sport! Second, we all know why they were there: it was the annual post-Thanksgiving feast guilt run. This is not unlike the post-new-year’s-resolution hit-the-gym-fest in January. You...

A sign saying, "You got this", with the caption, "Getting started is sometimes the hardest part. Just do it. It gets better."

Yikes! My mind is blank, and my marketing deadline is looming… what now?

Let’s face it; no one is on top of the game all the time. Sometimes it’s a daunting task even just trying to figure out where to start at all, from figuring out what’s for dinner all the way up to pulling off a critical presentation. But no pressure, right? Marketing is no exception. From time to time, even experienced marketers have situations where they’re facing a rapidly approaching deadline, and just have to get that next campaign (or blog...

A person typing on a keyboard, with the caption, "SEO and SEM sound like identical twins, but in reality they serve different-but equally important-marketing functions."

What is the difference between SEO and SEM: the small business owner’s guide

Just about everyone has heard about SEO and SEM. SEO, particularly, gets talked about a lot; even small business owners with very little marketing experience trot it out when we meet with them. And, indeed, both SEO and SEM are important tools for any business owner. The problem is that there is a lot of confusion between the two terms, despite the fact that they are entirely different things. And even worse, people rarely ask for clarification—either because they don’t...