Tips for Small Business

Starting a business can be stressful. Up to now, you seem to have done everything. You have the website up and running, social media pages have been created and your products are starting to sell. Yet, you haven't had time or even looked at ways to network your small business. Don't fret because it's really not that hard. Try these techniques and before long you're going to find yourself on top.

First, contact the local media. Within your town there is likely a major newspaper or television news station. If you haven't already, set up an appointment. Have them interview you about your business and how it's going to benefit your community. Let's say you run a pond installment service. If you just started your small business, people are going to be curious about what your do. They'll want to know what types of ponds you install, for instance, and what types of fish they can put inside them.

*Check out this example of one of the first things I did when I got hired here at AddressTwo: Click Here to view an example Press Release.

Another networking tip is to get on social media. Find social media pages that are within the niche of your business. More than likely, these pages will allow promotions. Take advantage of this by advertising your business. On that note, your business should also have a social media page. Aim to be Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter. These are the main social networks. As your business grows, you may consider hiring a social media manager. Anything to do with your business should go on your page. This includes promotions, events and so forth.  

*Like, Follow, Tweet with us (Click each link)

"A Taste of Muncie, Indiana" 

Lastly, don't forget to attend community events. It doesn't matter the niche of your business; you need to get your business out there to the community. Think of events such as Taste of (your city). Try to a booth at a festival, a trade show or a home show. If you have a wedding business, there are plenty of opportunities to get your business out there. Always have business cards on hand because word of mouth travels faster than anything else. Also, you may want to give away freebies at the events so the customers come back to you, such as a free hat with your company name on it.

Small business doesn't have to be that hard. As you start to get comfortable with your business, explore different methods to get it out to your audience. While they will eventually find you, these techniques will work in your favor. 

Staying Organized in Small Business

Small business can be a lot of work. There are tasks to delegate to each person, messages to answer and marketing to do daily. Not to mention your social media presence and your public appearances. It doesn't have to be stressful, however, if you take the time to efficiently organize your small business. In essence, you are making it work for you and create passive income. Here's helpful tips to do just that.

First, schedule out each minute of your day. There are approximately 168 hours in a day, equating to roughly 10,080 minutes. How are you spending it? Factor in everything. This includes your meal breaks, sleeping, daily errands and when you run your children to daycare. Factor in how much time you spend marketing your business, when you talk to business clients and so forth. Each minute should be accounted for because this going to help you fill in the gaps. It's also going to help you see how you can change your working habits.

Another habit to start doing is to go paperless. There's no need to send clients paper invoices or fax them through an out-dated fax machine. Both these tasks can be completed directly through your CRM system. You're going to find that you save money not only on paper but on energy. Since anything uses energy when it's plugged into an outlet (even if it's not turned on and being used), the printer will be one less appliance driving up that cost. In addition, sell that shredder. You won't need it because you won't have anything to shred as a paperless office.

On another note, you should consider buying your office supplies in bulk. If you use a lot of pens, for instance, order them from Amazon. They sell large quantities of office supplies at a discounted rate. Almost all of their products are at a discount. And, if you spend over $50, you get free shipping on your merchandise. Moreover, you may want to invest in organizers for each desk. We each have that junk drawer in our desk where our supplies disappear. With organizers this won't happen. It's an easy way to go to your pens or supplies without having to worry about it. 

You may also want to clean house. By this I don't mean clean your actual house, but consider your online presence. Clean up your social networks and remove old posts that aren't relevant anymore. Remove posts from your blog that aren't attracting visitors. In addition, you may want to remove those that have lost interest in your business all together. Start fresh and organize everything, including your e-mail inbox. If you get a lot of spam, consider putting a stronger spam filter on your e-mail. This is going to help you be more organized in the long run.

Being organized in your small business is so refreshing. If you're organized, then you're more relaxed. Try these techniques to get organized and you're sure to take your business to the next level. It's worth it. 

 "I have known that I needed help with my prospect follow ups and accountability for a while. As the CEO of my company, I have lots of tasks and big ideas, and I need to make sure my contacts didn't get neglected or pushed to the bottom of my "to do" list. AddressTwo has helped me stay organized, stay in touch, and stay on task. I would recommend it for anyone in sales, account management, customer relations--you name it. You need it." - Mel McMahon, CEO of Indiana Orginals 

For more great reviews of AddressTwo: Click Here

Email Marketing Tips

The internet has been around roughly twenty years. It's hard to imagine a time when this was not part of our lives. Within this time, millions of companies and customers have signed on with their own email addresses. More now than ever, companies have to push harder and stronger to get customers to shop their stores. One of the many techniques they use is email marketing. Here's some helpful tips for your first email marketing campaign.

1) First, it's important to personalize your content. While your email will always contain your newsletter, it's a great idea to personalize recommendations. You can easily do this by having them fill out a form that closely relates to their interests in reference to your content. For instance, Bill might enjoy SEO but Sally enjoys podcasting. So, on Billy's email there are SEO recommendations. This helps you and the customer in the long run. For you, it makes sure you get more clicks to your website. For the customer, it makes them more aware of what is out there.

2) Another helpful tip is to include downloads. Depending on your small business, you may occasionally have documents you need to send to your audience. These may be forms for a conference, for instance, that they can return via e-mail. It's also an idealistic place to drag in pictures to your email. Give your readers a personalized feel that your content has been created just for them. In addition, this is a platform where you can send embedded video files, such as webinars or video podcasts.

3) Do you want your readers and buyers to shop your business more often? Through your email marketing, consider what you can give away. Coupons, freebees and promotions soften the heart of your buyers. Let's say you have a new book coming out; it's priced at $9.99. If you want your readers to give you warm, honest reviews, then give it to them for free or for $0.99. Why? Because they have loyally read each book you have published; you should give back to them.

4) Lastly, consider mobile marketing. E-mail is no longer is in its infancy. It's not 1997; rather, it's 2016. We have computers, phones, tablets, among many other devices. This means your e-mail needs to be responsive. The reader needs to be able to read it whether their screen is three inches or 17 inches. They should not have to worry about zooming in to read text. On that note, files should be downloadable on all devices. The file extension .rtf (Real Text Format) usually works for most devices, as does .jpg files for images. Consider these extensions when developing your newsletter.

It's important to utilize e-mail so your customers get the most out of your company. They are the flame of the company. It's vital that you foster that light, making it stronger so that the fire doesn't go out. That's why you need e-mail marketing. You need to meet your audience where they are and they will come to you. 

Visit our blog for more email marketing tips.