April 2022
The Marketing Tactics No One Is Talking About That Entrepreneurs Are Using to Grow 100%, 200%, or More Year Over Year!
roadblocks holding them back from success. Since these roadblocks are somewhat universal, I want to share the secret to getting over these hurdles to achieve success. The first issue is wishful and wistful thinking. The entrepreneurs struggling with this issue have a basic understanding of what they need to do to solve their problem. They are just unwilling to do it. Instead, they spend time lamenting about the “good old days” and wishing things would go back to “normal” so they can be successful again without making any adjustments. Unfortunately, that’s just not how things work — just look at the pandemic. Now, instead of getting back to normal, we need to adjust to the “new normal.” Taxes are another example. Once a new tax is created — even on a “limited” basis — your chances of getting rid of that tax is damn near zero. Stop wishing things would go back to the way things used to be because you’re
No matter where I go, I keep hearing a similar story from entrepreneurs. The story starts out with reminiscing about how just a few years ago, this entrepreneur owned their niche and were crushing it on all levels. Then (predictably), it all goes downhill from there. As the entrepreneur continues their story, they talk about how some new competitor is now soaking up a massive portion of the market share. Once a “No. 1 Player” in the space, the entrepreneur is now losing ground and isn’t the top dog anymore. The third act in these stories tends to have a similar theme as well: The entrepreneur either desperately wants to know how to solve this issue and get back to being No. 1, or they are considering selling their company. I have the solution to this problem. In fact I’m working on a whole training program around this very issue. However, I’ve found that people struggling with this business problem (or others) have several major
Continued on Page 2 ...
1
www.newsletterpro.com
Building Relationships to Help Small Businesses Succeed.
208.297.5700
... continued fromCover
wasting the most important asset you have: your time. If you take too long to adapt, you’ll be one of the entrepreneurs calling me with an emergency issue trying to save their company. That brings me to the next issue. Some entrepreneurs want
The people who become successful don’t look for the cheapest person, they look for the best.
to solve the problem but don’t want to spend money to do so. What ? If you have a problem and can write a check to solve it, do you actually have a problem? Or do you have an inconvenience? Marketing is too complicated to put it in the hands of someone who is ineffective but inexpensive. You may think that Jill from the front desk is qualified to be your “marketing manager” on the side. After all, she’s been working for you for 12 years. But I’ll let you in on a little secret: If Jill knew how to do marketing, she would go get a marketing job that pays more than you do. Stop being cheap. The people who become successful don’t look for the cheapest person; they look for the best. They look for the people who will get it right the first time. This type of “penny pinching” and hiring for convenience rather than quality really holds entrepreneurs back. Trust me, this info was gained from personal experience after making this mistake multiple times. In today’s world, you have to build a community and relationships within that community in order to be successful. This is a must — and the longer you wait, the more it will cost. And by the time it becomes urgent, you will have already lost a massive amount of revenue. This is stuff you have to do now. You will just have to wait to calculate the ROI until after it’s already done and the investment has been made — there are no guarantees. Then you’ll have to adjust how you measure success accordingly. Don’t worry, it’s still measured in dollars. At least that hasn’t changed yet. This is how you set yourself up to win big in 2022 and beyond. If you’re not moving in this direction with things like newsletters, digital marketing, print marketing, and social communities, I look forward to speaking with you within the next two years about how someone has walked into your market and is kicking your ass. –Shaun
“I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.” –Isaiah 41:18 (NIV)
2
www.newsletterpro.com
Small businesses need to know how to rapidly transform in today’s market — are you prepared? To effectively grow despite 2022’s shifting political and economic climates, here are several small-business growth strategies that we recommend. No. 1: Leverage your supplier’s new products. Are distribution and supply issues affecting your business? It’s no surprise that most businesses in the U.S. can relate with you. Karen Olson Beenken, president and CEO of Blue Rock Companies, told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “We rely on supply availability and over-the-road transportation.” Despite the fact that their supply has been “cut,” utilizing different, new product rollouts that suppliers offer will help the business continue to grow its operation. No. 2: Educate clients and partners on ways you’ve adapted. Because of recent events (the shift toward work-from-home models, the Great Resignation, and supply chain issues), many companies have had to adjust their entire business model. So, tell people that you’ve adapted, too. Larry Kidd, the president and CEO of Hire, said, “Our company is in the talent business and [is] painfully aware how much the talent pool has changed. We are working with our client partners to educate them on the new management styles, increased compensation packages, and other aspects of recruitment and retention.” Don’t miss a beat — educate your team, clients, and partners on the important changes you’re 7 Small-Business Growth Strategies Thrive in 2022, Thanks to Expert Advice
No. 4: Widen your online footprint. Are small businesses being practical enough when it comes to sales? When it comes to being “practical” in today’s world, that means making sure your consumers — who largely favor online and mobile shopping — can find you. Phil Strazzulla, founder of Select Software Reviews, told the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “[Businesses] need to widen their online footprint to gain a significant proportion of customers from the current market. A simple way to sell products is to have a [seller account on] Shopify or Etsy. To sell services, … list [your company] on freelance and contract websites.” No. 5: Use partnership marketing to reach a wider audience. Performing a strategic collaboration with another company can pay off in big ways for both parties. Not only does it widen your company awareness, but it also might make your customers’ lives easier, too. A good place to start is to ask: What companies offer complimentary items or services? Tyler Martin, founder and certified business coach at Think Tyler, said, “Collaboration with another company can aid in the development of better marketing initiatives that benefit both parties. If your target clients are similar, you may pool your resources to better your marketing techniques, build Influencer marketing is a popular way for any business to garner the attention of their ideal customer base — but micro- influencers are a perfect option for any small business because they don’t cost as much and can reach specific audiences. No. 7: Prioritize company culture — it might save you. your brands, and expand your audience reach.” No. 6: Work with micro-influencers. Workers are quitting jobs at record-high rates. Many people are changing what a healthy work-life balance looks like and what they want in a company culture, according to Amanda Ma, CEO of Innovate Marketing Group. If you’re considering whether to go full work-from-home or have a hybrid workplace, evaluate the situation carefully to see which works best for your team. “Not all solutions are made equal, [and] culture is part of that,” Amanda Ma explained. “A big factor [for employees], in addition to salary and benefits, is culture, [so have] a culture strategy in place.” 2022 is full of opportunities if you have the right perspective and foresight. The second quarter has just begun, and the experts make it clear that there’s so much room this year to grow and thrive!
making to adapt and stay ahead. No. 3: Seek contracting opportunities with state and federal agencies. Although a record-breaking 4.4 million new U.S. businesses were created in 2020, many companies have left state and federal government markets. Padma Vatsavai, CEO at Vinformatix, said, “The Department of Defense outlined at a recent conference that between 43% and 60% of the small-business industrial base is no longer in the federal space … Strategic sourcing and category management are the name of the day.”
3
208.297.5700
Tap Into Remote Employees Don’t Ignore Valuable Expertise Remote work has revolutionized the way businesses utilize their human capital. Companies are no longer bound to regional workers or experts and can truly hire the best person for the job from almost anywhere. Yet, as Fast Company reported in early 2022, there may be a significant downside, one that is both unintentional and biased. Studies have found that remote workers put in longer hours and increase their productivity compared to their in-office counterparts, yet they are 50% less likely to be promoted. That information comes from TINYpulse, which provides employee tools and systems to businesses. This is not only harmful to employees, who may then feel unappreciated and seek other opportunities for employment, but it also creates a pitfall for companies that may ignore potential leaders simply because they commute over Zoom. It’s necessary to avoid this at all costs, so deploy the following methods. One Company, Not Two It’s easy to create divisions among workers; after all, there is a reason you have departments! However, this division shouldn’t exist between remote and in-office employees. When hosting events or specialty employee perks, do not make these for in-office employees only. This only increases the division that already exists because of physical space. When you establish the mentality of one whole company, you begin to approach your employees on an equal playing field.
Why Is SEO Important, Anyway? We talk a lot about content marketing and why, as the famous industry proverb goes, “content is king.” But you may hear another proverb from digital marketers that may seem to compete with the importance of content: “Without SEO, nobody will know who you are.” It’s true. SEO — or search engine optimization — matters. If you aren’t familiar, search engine optimization is essentially the process of optimizing your website to appear on the first page of any search. If you run an ice cream parlor, you want to be the first result when people search “best ice cream in my city.” However, if you aren’t easy to find on Google, then how do people discover your business? Answer: They don’t. According to Pew Research Center, over 91% adults use search engines to find information. Additionally, over 46% of searches on Google have local intent and represent billions of high-value searches for local businesses and services. ImpactPlus says consumers do 70% of their research online before starting a conversation with sales. If potential customers are spending time researching and always choose someone else over you, then it’s time to evaluate your SEO and digital marketing. Even at Newsletter Pro, we’ve developed our own innovative ways to blend creative storytelling content with digital and print marketing. But why, exactly, is maintaining healthy, powerful SEO so important and effective, especially for many of our small-business clients? With Technical Marketing, Your Growth Is Limitless —Even if It’s Slow There’s no instant hack, plug-in, or cheat that’ll make your website perfect. In fact, building powerful SEO is often a slow process, due to how the technicalities of SEO work. Choosing the most high-ranking keywords — in other words, the most frequent words or phrases your customers are searching — is an obvious priority to appear on search engines. If you need a place to start, integrating key phrases into high-quality pieces of content is one of the best things you can do. “Wait, why high-quality content?” you may ask. “Why not throw keywords into any kind of content?” That’s because the second-most important thing to being discovered on Google, Bing, or any search engine is your backlinks. In other words, do people ever link to your website on other websites? If you have compelling content, people are more prone to share your content with others. This is why many digital marketers believe high-quality content is just as important and crucial to any comprehensive SEO strategy.
Be Present and Engaged Employee one-on-ones are powerful tools to gauge satisfaction and give feedback. It’s important for every employee to have these personal meeting opportunities with their manager or you. But, because you see your in-office employees more often, the opportunity for these conversations on a daily basis is more feasible. It’s vital that you do this
with your remote employees more often. Create twice- monthly meetings where you engage singularly with these employees to measure their happiness, provide critiques, and give them a feeling of engagement. In doing so, you also give them a platform for self-promotion, which can open doors you didn’t realize you needed to exist. How you choose to deploy these methods is up to your company and its culture, but it’s nonnegotiable. Your remote employees have a wealth of knowledge you shouldn’t ignore.
Continued on Page 6 ...
4
www.newsletterpro.com
Google Expert Spills Digital Marketing Secrets In ‘Converted: The Data-Driven Way to Win Customers’ Hearts’
Online, Google is a digital magnet that sucks everything on the internet toward it. According to HubSpot, the average person types in 3–4 Google searches per day. If you use Chrome, watch YouTube, or utilize Gmail, then you’re one of its millions of happy customers. Wouldn’t you want to learn tips from the guy responsible for that powerhouse’s digital marketing success?
Now you can.
In late February, Google’s chief measurement strategist, Neil Hoyne, shared his secrets in a brand new book: “Converted: The Data-Driven Way to Win Customers’ Hearts.” While data is the currency Hoyne deals in, his book focuses less on gathering it and more on how to use it to get results by building relationships with customers. Yes, you read that right: Just like we’ve always said here at Newsletter Pro, according to Hoyne, your business success comes down to relationship marketing! As Hoyne put it in an interview with McKinsey, “Software wasn’t the answer. More data wasn’t the answer. It was actually the strategy, the leadership, and the processes that unlock[ed] all that value.” In ‘Converted,’ Hoyne shares six secrets: 1. How to calculate the value of your relationships with clients 2. How to use data to target and convert customers 3. How to start meaningful conversations with clients and leads 4. How to choose which customers are your top priorities 5. How to stay one step ahead of your clients and anticipate their needs 6. How to make your clients love you and leave your competition in the dust
When Hoyne isn’t making history at Google, he teaches classes like “Customer Analytics for Growth Using Machine Learning, AI, and Big Data” at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. You can really tell that “Converted” was written by a teacher. Drawing on his 15 years of experience advising thousands of companies, Hoyne lays out all of his strategies one step at a time. You can follow along and use his playbook to strengthen customer relationships, retention, and conversion rates at your own business. “The goal shouldn’t necessarily be to compare your business against the data you had last year or five years ago, but rather how do you capture more data so you can make better decisions than your competitors? That’s how you’re successful,” Hoyne told McKinsey. “The key to that is: How do you build more trust with your consumers? There’s a lot of work to be done in this space. What exactly is the right value exchange for consumers? What do they want? That’s where companies are starting to invest.” “Youtility” author Jay Baer calls Hoyne’s book “the most useful field guide ever written on how to drive desirable customer behavior online.” To find out why, pick up a copy today.
“For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground.” –Job 5:6 (NIV)
5
208.297.5700
How AG1 Became a $1 Billion Business
... continued from Page 4
Eventually, with enough attention, your company may be linked to a “best of city” list or an industry-related article from a bigger website, such as Forbes or BuzzFeed. This is insanely good for your SEO ranking, because if a big, widely trusted website decides to link to you, Google will decide to trust you more than ever. Although it may take years for a consistent high-quality technical SEO strategy to pay off in full, you’ll never regret the exposure stability it’ll give you for many more years to come. But Wait … Don’t Make These Fatal Technical SEOMistakes It’s impossible to list every single flaw that can occur in your SEO within this article, but there are numerous common, yet fatal, technical mistakes that can happen. If you make these mistakes, you often cut down your SEO success in ways that majorly limit your growth. • First, optimize your website for mobile devices. StatCounter reports that in 2020, 55% of all worldwide online traffic came from mobile. You could have the most beautiful website in the world, but if your site is confusing to navigate on a mobile device (or even crashes instead of loading), then fewer and fewer people are going to try. In other words, your brand won’t have a chance to speak for itself. • Second, audit your website speed regularly. Everyone knows you see a roommate’s true nature when the internet goes down. Slow websites are no exception — they make everyone grumpy. From reducing the amount of data on your pages to choosing a different website host, there are so many factors that influence why your site may not be loading fast enough. Thankfully, Google has released mobile- friendly tests to help you optimize your mobile website. You can choose what strategies make the most sense for your website and business. • Third, include an SSL certificate on your website . Not only does an SSL (secure sockets layer) certificate provide extra security for visitors, but it also confirms identities and improves customer trust. By purchasing an SSL certificate, you will not only improve your SEO ranking, but you’ll also appear even more legitimate and responsive to customers. • Lastly, don’t forget to submit a site map to search engines. It’s basically a “table of contents” for your website that’s easy to create, and critical for search engines to find and index your website. Site maps aren’t difficult to create — if you use WordPress as your content management system, for example, you can easily find plug-ins that will create a site map for you. Now, you know everything you need to know about the importance of a great technical SEO strategy. If you don’t take it seriously, it’s likely your digital marketing strategy will miss its long-term goals. With our world turning progressively more digital, it’s time to take your SEO to the next level.
Wellness brands are a dime a dozen, but few have the success of those like Nike or Gatorade. A New Zealand-based company just might be changing that. Athletic Greens was founded in 2010 with the idea that one scoop of its product could provide users with essential nutrients they need for energy, immunity, gut health, and functionality. It claims to be on the cutting edge of nutritional science, sourcing the “highest quality ingredients” and continually improving its formula to optimize people’s health benefits. In fact, its protein shake-like product is in its 50th iteration! However, that’s not what makes Athletic Greens — now known as AG1 — so impressive. No, it’s the massive growth the company has made by being willing to try out some simple pivots.
We all know time is money. The good news is that many businesses understand that entrepreneurs are experts in making every dollar count. What if you could get, as of February 2022, highly accurate, effective tools for time tracking, cost tracking, time sheets, and task planning for only $35 a month — for up to 10 users? This is where Tempo comes in. Your subscription is completely customizable, meaning it can be cheaper depending on which tools you include. Let’s break down each of Tempo’s tools so you can decide which are best for you. Time Sheets Automated time tracking allows you to easily track billable time, which produces reliable data for reporting, invoicing, and accounting. With Google and Microsoft calendar integrations, Tempo’s tool for time sheets creates automated suggestions that make it easy to fill out time sheets. From there, you can
6
www.newsletterpro.com
Quotes to Grow On
In 2020 and 2021, AG1 pivoted its marketing toward women through having more of a female focus on its website and by utilizing social media posts that featured athletic women. Understanding that women have remodeled sportswear, AG1 acted on this trend within the nutritional category of wellness. Fast Company reports that this change cultivated new customers for AG1, roughly 45% of which were female. What’s more, AG1 has created a product that’s garnered the support of fitness experts and even celebrities (like Hugh Jackman and Cindy Crawford). The product is seen as a viable piece of well-being technology, as opposed to snake oil-like products that once dominated the industry and created mistrust. The company’s new CEO, Kat Cole, explains that the product is the company’s biggest advantage.
“The secret to marketing success is no secret at all: Word of mouth is all that matters.” –Seth Godin
“It’s an unbelievably effective product that has a radically high degree of trust with customers,” Cole told Fast Company. “It’s not lost on me the responsibility to protect that, while doing more storytelling, talking about the brand, and expanding the geographies, products, and channels.” Today, AG1 is valued at more than $1 billion, and its $150 million in revenue from 2021 is a growth pattern of 360% from 2020 to 2021.
Find Us on Social!
Why Tempo Is Good for Your Business measure and report on capital expenditures and operating expenses easily and build custom reports to support your operational needs, such as R&D tax refunds. Never Lose Momentum Again
Planner Goodbye, overcrowded spreadsheets! Now, you can oversee plans and resources all in one view. You don’t have to overcommit your team, and you can plan more efficiently. The best part? You can prioritize work according to full-time equivalents to ensure workloads are balanced. Cost Tracker This tool works best with Tempo Timesheets, since it gives you a high-level overview of all your projects and calculated labor costs (as well as time spent in focus). By visualizing project expenses by category and labor costs by role, you have full control over your project’s scope, budget, and cost rate. You will always see the results immediately. We hope this will help you learn more about Tempo, a new favorite among savvy entrepreneurs. Never lose momentum again; make the right Tempo package work for you.
Tempo also offers a second product, Prime Timesheets, but don’t get confused — it costs less than the Tempo Timesheets version because it’s a lightweight add-on, rather than their signature automated software. However, if your time sheet needs are relatively minimal, you could consider opting in Prime Timesheets.
7
208.297.5700
Savvy Ads Spurred Bowery Farming to Success In New York, Humor Sells Lettuce
Inside The Marketing Tactics No One Is Talking About 7 Small-Business Growth Strategies 2 Methods to Engage Remote Employees Why Is SEO Important — Really?
1 3 4
The company’s premise is as unusual as its advertising. Bowery Farming grows its baby kale, arugula, romaine, cilantro, and other leafy greens in vertical “smart farms.” This method of urban farming involves growing greens indoors without soil in large trays that are stacked high on shelf after shelf. “When compared to outdoor operations, our indoor farms can
Older generations have long been baffled by the humor of Generation Z and millennials. It’s packed with offbeat images, self-deprecation, anxiety references, and of course, internet memes. Affinity Magazine claims this mix is “unlike any past generation’s style of comedy” — and as we write this, Bowery Farming is using it to sell lettuce. Bowery Farming’s sustainably grown greens are an ideal product for eco- conscious Generation Z and millennial shoppers, and the company’s marketing team knows it! This year, they rolled out a series of commercials crafted by illustrator Laurène Boglio that hit all of the right humor notes. “Your mom describes your sister as the pretty one. And nobody trusts you to hold their baby. But damn, this pesticide-free lettuce is amazing. If nothing else, feel good about your greens,” says bold text in one video. It’s accompanied by cartoons of two sisters (one earning a crown), and a woman rocking a baby upside down to quirky background music. The “If nothing else, feel good about your greens” slogan is the throughline of all of Bowery Farming’s ads. Another goes like this: “You bought a tiger zoo. And you forgot to clear your browser history. But at least this baby kale is incredible. If nothing else, feel good about your greens.” And here’s our favorite: “A murder hornet ate your cat. And you accidentally replied all. But at least you don’t have to wash these greens. If nothing else, feel good about your greens.” Bowery is a great example of a company that knows its demographic and leverages that knowledge to create buzz- worthy ads. Bowery Farming launched in New York City — its name comes from the Bowery neighborhood in lower Manhattan — but has expanded into New Jersey and Maryland.
6 6
1 Pivot Made AG1 a $1 Billion Business
Tempo — Help for Savvy Time Crunchers
yield 100 times more produce in the same space, thanks to our vertically stacked design that grows crops year-round,” the company explains.
This design lets Bowery provide hyper-local greens to cities that are miles away from traditional agriculture and would otherwise rely on trucked-in produce. This local focus is a big part of the brand (and another perk to millennial/Generation Z
customers), so it only makes sense that in addition to carefully targeting their demographic with humor, Bowery’s “Feel Good Greens” campaign takes aim at prospects geographically. And where will you find a large concentration of Generation Z and millennial shoppers in New York City? On the subway, of course! “Since Bowery Farming is headquartered in New York City and serves the tri- state area and mid-Atlantic markets, the campaign is targeted to those locales,” MediaPost reports. “It includes out-of-home placements at a lower Manhattan subway station in the Bowery neighborhood.” This “subway takeover” and savvy ad campaign combined are a strong one- two punch that puts Bowery Farming in front of its demographic and keeps its greens top of mind. When planning your company’s next advertising campaign, take a leaf out of Bowery’s salad bowl and ask yourself these four questions:
1. What is my target demographic? 2. What will make them laugh, and how can I use that? 3. Where are they located? 4. How can I reach them daily? This formula will help you generate advertisements as unique as your company and your consumers. Before you know it, you might need an out-of-state office, too.
8
www.newsletterpro.com
Building Relationships to Help Small Businesses Succeed.
208.297.5700
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator