RECENT ARTICLES
How to Convert Online Traffic to Foot Traffic Using Local SEO Optimization
Despite the rise of e-commerce and on-demand delivery services, research has shown that 90 percent of consumer purchases are made in-store. That’s great news for local small businesses, but only for those with a strong online presence. Consumers use the Internet and search engines to find out what is available close to them, and for...
The Five Pillars of Getting Millions of Pageviews
With so many people betting on a crash in the venture capital and tech sectors, the billion-dollar question is how to make sure your startup avoids the oncoming tsunami collapsing on the shores of Silicon Valley. The simplest answer is to make sure that you have traction. The longer answer is that if you...
Boost Your Clicks: 4 Email Marketing Do’s and Don’ts
Email marketing may still be one of the best ways to reach your audience, but that doesn’t make it any easier to actually get your contacts to engage with the content you send in your company emails. 4 Ways to Boost Your Email Engagement Rate: 1. Start with a Juicy Subject Line Your email subject line is...
Developing a One-of-a-Kind Brand: James Hill and the Story of High Cotton
Several of our past Smart Hustle interview guests have spoken on the topic of developing a niche – not trying to be everything to everybody and instead focusing in on that one special thing that only you can offer. Of course, developing your one-of-a-kind brand is challenging, so I’m excited to share my recent...
Improve Your Advertising ROI with a Live Answering Service
Marketing isn’t just creating a small brochure or placing an ad on Craigslist. It’s creating (and sticking to) a dedicated strategy to increase your sales. To continue growing you need new customers, but to gain new customers you need to invest in marketing. Many small companies don’t invest enough in marketing, which leads to slow...
Boosting Your Biz Through Content: An Interview with Julie Tupler of Diastasis Rehab
If there is one thing that my Smart Hustle interview series proves, it’s that entrepreneurs can come from all walks of life. Can an artist be an entrepreneur? Yes! Can a personal finance expert be an entrepreneur? Yes! Can a nurse be an entrepreneur? Yes! For proof on that last point, let me introduce you to my...
The Power Of Publicity: Your Cheat Sheet to Getting Media Coverage
The right public relations strategy can be one of the best tools that you have in order to get media attention for your company. The right media coverage can boost your reputation in your industry, lead to increased revenue for your company and help your organization get in front of countless current and potential...
The Working Artist, Crista Cloutier, Shares Business Tips for the Creative Industries
For most people in the creative industries, business doesn’t come naturally. Their passion lies in their artwork, whether it is a beautiful painting, a stunning sculpture or a piece of decorative jewelry. That said, for artists to make it in today’s competitive environment, they must be able to create and run a successful business....
Why and How Successful Businesses Grow Revenue by Paying Attention to Existing Customers
This article is published in partnership with Insightly, providing CRM and project management solutions for small business owners. If you own a business, there will always be competition. That is just a fact. But in the days of the internet and digital revolution, the pressure to gain and keep customers is more difficult than ever....
9 Growth Hacks from Your Favorite Startups (and How to Use Them)
Startup = Growth. That’s how Paul Graham, founder of YCombinator, defined a startup. As per this definition, growth is the most important metric for a startup. It doesn’t matter whether this growth is in users, traffic or revenue; as long as the chart keeps pointing upwards, the startup is succeeding. But how do startups actually...
3 Ways to Pitch Your Small Business to the Media
The people who need publicity the most are small business owners. Unfortunately, those are usually the ones who don’t have a budget to hire someone to earn great PR, so they try to tackle it themselves. It can work, I’ve seen it done before, but many times these pitches fall short. I have been on...
Tips on How To Build a Tribe and Successful Business from “The Budgetnista”
List building is the marketing method of choice for some businesses, but is it appropriate for every business? Should the owner of a landscaping business try to build a list? What about someone who runs a bakery or a laundromat? If you’ve taken a pass on list and tribe building or aren’t putting much...